By John Chin

IPOH, Malaysia: The owner of The Haven Lakeside Residences in Ipoh has vowed to resolve the issues between the joint management building (JMB) and eight disgruntled parcel unit owners in a case which can impact how high rise living is managed in the country.

After representatives of the Commissioner of Buildings from the City Hall Ipoh disrupted the JMB annual general meeting (AGM) last month, the Haven's chief executive officer Peter Chan said that the allegations of improprieties within the organisation are misrepresentations.

And if left unattended, the issue can for the first time in history alter how the country's management of high rise living is able to be conducted, he exclaimed.

The actions of some quarters can cripple the operations of the luxurious condominium living and the lives of some 400 of its buyers, Chan concluded.

Hence, he is dedicated to correct the misconceptions.

He is first appealing to the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) to understand the plight of the majority of the buyers, who are worried that if the value of their property will erode due to the constant bickering within the parcel owners and involvement from outside parties.

Secondly, Chan is reaching out to the authorities, including the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tambun, the site where The Haven is located, for his officers and/or ministries to render their views. 

At the heart of the matter is a constant stream of needless complaints and accusations from the eight buyers, whom Chan claimed are a small minority out of a majority of the 516 parcel owners. 

The management must be governed with the majority in mind, and not bend to the wishes of the minority, he says.

Besides, both the developer and the JMC members have laboured selflessly for over a decade in the management and improvement of the development, with good results shown that benefit the parcel owners considerably! 

The climax was a civil suit filed in 2020 by eight individual buyers with an Ipoh High Court ruling here last year that eight respondents including Chan, are liable to repay back RM1.13 million to the sinking fund of the project's JMB.

The sum was earlier approved by the JMB to construct tennis courts and to pay the land premium for the land donated to the JMB, which Chan informed gave additional value to the condominiums' worth. 

The extra land and lease added approximately RM 41 million to the development. 

The same court has however granted a stay in the ruling pending the outcome of the appeal.

What has shocked the entire Haven community is that when translated to layman terms, showed that a minority group can supersede a majority in any JMB decision made. 

He was bewildered why the COB had sneaked into the AGM, an annual gathering for the buyers when they were invited. 

The AGM did not address the merits of the court case, as it is now at the Appeal Court stage.

"We feel that we were bullied in this case but we must respect the court decision and have filed an appeal. We will adhere to the due process but in the meantime, the stay order has to be given and the order has been suspended."

Chan said that life must go on for the Haven. 

The peaceful and serene atmosphere here cannot be upset. 

Of the 516 parcel units in the three towers, 150 has been licensed as hotel residences and are now managed under a collaboration with Europe’s biggest hospitality operator TUI Blue.

Chan said that the legal issues would not deter him from promoting Perak as a preferred tourist destination for the "Visit Malaysia Year 2026" campaign.

The Haven alone has catered to 170,000 foreign tourists from over 120 countries since it opened in 2014.

There is no publicly available registry listing the exact number of JMB's in the country, but they are mandatory for all strata properties to include condominiums, apartments and other such properties.

There are thousands of JMBs and they must be regulated and made to carry out their duties effectively and must oversee the rights of all stake holders including tenants and owners, project owners and developers.

It is common sense, and the law, that the majority must to overrule the minority, but at The Haven, the opposite seems to have happened. 

Attempts are underway to contact the COB in Ipoh on this matter.