House buyers host Aidilfitri gathering at abandoned Borneo Semariang Garden project

The Sentoria BSG Phase 7 house buyers celebrate Aidilfitri at their half-completed units. – Photo by Harry Izzdin

KUCHING (May 6): A group of house buyers at the stalled Phase 7 Sentoria Borneo Semariang Garden (BSG) housing project gathered at their half-completed units yesterday to host an Aidilfitri open house.

The group’s representative Abdul Rahman Abdul told The Borneo Post of their disappointment at how the developers had handled the project.

“Our last contact with them was via mail around September last year, in which the developer gave assurance that the housing project would be completed within a year.

Abdul Rahman (right) shows the sale and purchase agreement for his house and other related documents. – Photo by Harry Izzdin

“The developer has since closed its Kuching branch office and their main headquarters is located in Kuantan, Pahang,” he said, adding that some 189 Phase 7 buyers have been left in a lurch by the developer.

According to Abdul Rahman, the majority of the house buyers are civil servants who have not only had to rent accommodation pending the completion of the houses, but at the same time pay the monthly installments for their purchased units which range from RM1,000 to RM2,000, via salary deductions.

The housing project, he added, commenced in 2018 involving over 1,000 houses in Phases 4, 5 and 7, as well as Spektra 1 and 2, and was supposed to have been completed in 2019.

Earlier yesterday, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state government will take over the development of Sentoria BSG from the developer.

Abang Johari, who spoke to reporters after attending the Gedong Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri gathering here, said the takeover could only be done once all issues related to the project are resolved, including legal matters, as the developer is a public listed company.

A section of the half-completed houses at Sentoria BSG Phase 7. – Photo by Harry Izzdin

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman said he had zero confidence that the developer would finish the housing project.

“I sincerely hope the state government would commit to what was announced today as it would solve our woes,” he said, while hoping that the legal aspects preceding the takeover by the state government could be resolved as quickly as possible.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3MOCS3a
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