Education about Flora Damansara

Let’s talk about finance.  If you scrutinize the notice board, you’ll notice that the financial statement put out by the management of the state of the financial affairs.  Since the certification of the Flora Damansara (Medium) JMB last March and the appointment PAMA Services shortly after that, the monthly reports for April and May has been put out for public consumption. For the month of June should be out in a few days to satisfy the curious.

The first thing at the top of the statement will be it’s total income for the month.  Mind you, this is total amount whether it is collected or not, but due to the JMB by it’s members – owners of each individual units of Flora Damansara.

Then we get serious with various expenses incurred for the maintenance of Flora Damansara as a whole. The first five figures are the fixed charges for the service providers (except for security, whose charges are based on 28 days, 29 days, 30 days or 31 days months). After that we have variable sums.

TNB electricity charges has been fairly stable, but it might go up in the next few months as we fix more electricals around Flora Damansara as those darkened areas lights-up! Or we might go down as we slowly fix the faulty timers that did not switch-off when it is already in the late mornings!

Water, our most head-ache figures here.  So much wastage! Various pipe-burst incidents and leakage of water tanks has contributed to this debacle!  You know our developer uses sub-standard quality materials for our pipings. Then we have vandalisms where those really ’smart’ fellows who tried to break their water-clamps, being amateur at best, broke instead the main pipings – there we have wastage.  Or the main pipings at the water tanks, too much pressure from the pumps, the pipes burst, too little pressure, the tank won’t fill up quickly enough. Talk about sub-standard planning from our developers.  Then we have the leakages in the tanks.  3 years of neglect on the water pumps.

The day PAMA Services took over the management of Flora Damansara (with RM0 in JMB’s Bank Account), the very next day we have the main pipes servicing the whole of Flora Damansara blocks C,D,E,F and H burst!  Some attribute it to revenge or sabotage!  Your guess is as good as mine.  PAMA Services fixed it all the while taking complaints and abuses from the residents.

The agreement was to have the previous management and it’s employer to handover the Flora Damansara to its JMB and it’s newly appointed management company everything in order, if not in brand-new mint condition, at least in tip-top working order.  Failing that, they’re to undertake all the necessary remedial works and officially handover them.  Unfortunately, procrastination seems to be their middle name. For the JMB to undertake this kind of major work, a major reserve of funds is in order. Something the JMB simply lack of. You cannot buy something, either goods or services paying for it. But the whole situation seems to point to that direction. While waiting for these remedial works to be done, patch-works on ad-hoc basis was made by PAMA Services. Most of their staff overtime claims was due to these patch-works. The water pumps was in so bad condition, people had to be maintained on rotation watch, patrolling all four residential blocks watching the water pumps 24/7! It is quite unfortunate for block D to have their water pumps being in the worst condition from neglect and disrepair and block H due to bad piping design and of sub-standard quality.

All this ought to be rectified but with criminally lackadaisical attitude, procrastinated causing grief to the residents. All the while we have people working over their time and above their limit, they have to deal also with irate residents and also handling their day-to-day duties, all for Flora Damansara. Some people have their limits. This is clearly exhibited by the exodus of residents away from Flora Damansara. How about high staff-turnover at PAMA Services at Flora Damansara?!  Isn’t it a joke we have people working to serve the residents of Flora Damansara but got abused instead.

Some people would say, this is usual excuse, blame the previous management and the developer.  I got another party to share the blame, the _owners_ themselves as well. Why does it exist people who are obligated to pay maintenance fees for the good of the whole community but fail to do so? If it’s only a black sheep or two it is still manageable, practically the whole flock?!  Alright, I cut it out of whole cloth, but the actual truth is some blocks has 3/4 (that’s three quarter!) of it’s owners in the red!! You can actually go to these blocks and randomly point 3 out of 4 people there and would’ve been correct too!

If only the maintenance was done properly previously.

If only the developer would’ve done a good construction job originally.

If only the owners paid-up their maintenance on time, no arrears!

If if if.

One of the few documents actually handed-over officially and intact to the JMB was the debtors list dated 31st March 2009. Now we have a full idea virtually how much is being owed by owners in arrears. There are also a handful of owners – clearly misguided – who paid their arrears to the previous management in their final days of mis-managing Flora Damansara. JMB honours their payments! Even though our JMB did not inherit a single cent from the previous management (Read – RM0 ). Provided an original documentation of the proof of payment are made available for verification.

There are also those who did pay-up those arrears to the JMB. A handful! Whom which we thank them very much! We are lucky that there were extras collected there which we are able to cover the over-expenses from various extras incurred. Currently, our monthly expenses are higher than our proper monthly maintenance fee dues.  Most of these extras are expenses which should have been spent earlier, much earlier during the tenure of the previous management company.  They’re now coming back to haunt us which we are using funds partly collected from arrears.

Why are these arrears so important that JMB are striving to collect?

Other than Debtors List that we received from the previous management, we also received the Creditors List. The JMCs are not a bunch of Ah Longs collectings debts only you know?!

We have arrears to TNB and SYABAS to the tune of hundreds and thousands of ringgit! From a figure of about a million ringgit in total, to date, with careful appropriation of hard-earned funds here and there, we are still owing TNB slightly above half a million ringgit and SYABAS close to three hundred thousand ringgit. (Actually, we arm-twist the developer to foot the bill previously, they were most unhappy even when we promised to repay them back as a condition of their payment!)

If we have our way, we would like to have the previous management to foot the bill.  But no can do, right?  Because, if the previous management refuses to pay these service providers, the service providers would’ve simply cut the supply and who would be suffering in the end? Flora Damansara will be the victim. After all, their arguments is that they never did able to collect enough to pay the service providers! Try calling this cow-droppings to their face?

I have idiots making police reports in disagreement that the JMB in collecting the arrears supposedly owed to the previous management. You disagree? Well, these service providers certainly disagree and they back it up by disrupting those essential supplies (Try arguing with that!). It’s like letting loose the wolves at all those black sheeps in the flock. I don’t mind really, it’s the cute white sheeps which of concern here. No, I am neither a wolf nor a sheep.  I’d like to think myself more like a fox!

In order for JMB to undertake all the major repair works on it’s own, as mentioned, funds must be available. A substantial amount. We need a source of fund. Unless there’s a philantropist billionaire living amongst us who can loan (if not donate) the funds needed, the source of fund must come from Flora Damansara itself!. JMCs in a collective majority decision has decided to go ahead and collect all those arrears owed in Maintenance Fees!

Now there are those who protested towards water clampings measures. They even wave the rulings of the case of “John Denis De Silva v. Crescent Court Management Corporation (2006)”. It’s true the rulings clearly said water clamping is illegal based on Strata Titles Act 318 (1985). But now, we have Building and Common Property Act 663 (2007) which stipulates broad powers for the JMB to act.

In short, rulings in 2006 based on Act 318 passed in 1985. Act 663 passed in 2007. Now is 2009.

It is common practice of various JMBs all over Malaysia to act according to the powers clearly stipulated within the Act 663.

This has been raised during the recent Police-Residents Safety Dialogue event on the 4th of July. The letter dated 18th June sent to JMB for invitation to join the event was only received on the late night of 2nd of July! Everyone I talk to, all told, this is an ambush.  Still I turn up.  It is a programme for safety-dialogue with the police. It is not a JMC-bashing programme.

There was questions and arguments that water clamping is illegal referring to the Act 318 ruling with even some concerned individual even raising fictions about Act 663(A) in opposition to Act 663. There’s an Act 663(A)!?

Of course I kept quiet mostly during this event.  It’s all about safety issues.  Flora Damansara (Medium) JMB along with Redza Security representative were present ready to answer any safety concerns but unfortunately there were none asked.

Thus, both of us JMC of Flora Damansara Blocks A & B and JMC of Flora Damansara Blocks C,D,E,F & H kept quiet at the side there while the esteemed speakers speak on safety issues, Rakan Cops, joint patrols. Imagine questions on legality of bringing machetes during Joint Patrols with the Police!

Rest assured, JMC are committed to individual water metre migrations. But problem is, SYABAS would not even consider if there are arrears!

On the other hand also, there are some hecklers at the back there, faces hidden, yelling for new JMCs.  Why not?

The current line-up of JMCs we have are mostly young and professionals. Most of us knew each others well. Then there are groups who wants to benefit from JMB by way of cronies. Case in point when there was pressure applied during the open tender meeting where the JMCs were asked to select candidates whom are clearly not suitable for the job. All in the name of ‘bumiputra’ sensibilities.

My apologies for not being a product of Biro Tata Negara.  The JMCs are answerable to 2400++ owners and also to the big man upstairs if you’re a believer of some form or another. Why I say this?  In an unrelated event, when it was floated the idea to tow away those vehicles that was hap-hazardly parked in areas to be marked as tow-away zones, these cronies, their first reaction?! Oh I know various car-towing operators..  We can make money out of this, let’s discuss this! Can’t we just let MBPJ do that instead?

Is it a wonder if the JMCs are suspicious when they treat JMB as a way of making money?

The JMCs personal agenda being in the committee are simply put – We want to restore Flora Damansara.  Mine is better! The higher the property value of Flora Damansara, the higher the profit I stand to gain from my unit.

Don’t you all owners of Flora Damansara want the value of Flora Damansara to go up?  Those who live here, will benefit from the quality of life.  Those who rent out, will get better quality tenants who are willing to pay top dollar simply to live here.

You want this? The truth – Not overnight after 3 years of neglect, not just from the previous management company or the developer, you _owners_ as well! Want the Project Restore Flora Damansara finish quickly? Those in arrears, pay-up! You guys have no excuse not to do so. Are you someone special to have dispensation for exclusion from your obligations? I shall refrain from using expletives here. Unlike someone whom I met recently at block H. Definitely I am better.

Oh yeah! Want a new JMC?  Under Act 663, please call up 25% of _ALL_ owners of Flora Damansara (Fully paid-up with no arrears!) to raise a petition to the COB and call for an EGM!  With one stroke, I get people to pay-up and get the job done!  Then I’ll retire!

Not happy? Tough!

Maulvi Bakar – Block H