KUCHING: Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen should have stepped in and assisted house owners at Taman Kalien in Kota Sentosa in obtaining their land titles, especially when he was the elected representative of the constituency from 2006 to 2020.
Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Women chief Kho Teck Wan said the housing project consisting of 438 houses had been granted the Occupation Permit (OP) many years ago.
However, the residents have yet to receive their land titles after almost 20 years residing in their purchased houses.
“I am surprised that Chong has never raised the issue during his 16-year tenure as the assemblyman in Kota Sentosa.
“But only called on the Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister (Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian) to resolve the problem recently,” she said.
Kho said instead of addressing the issue he was the Kota Sentosa assemblyman, Chong is shifting the responsibility to the Sarawak government.
“As a lawyer, he definitely is capable of helping the residents by providing legal advice,” she said.
“I was made to understand that it is the sole responsibility of the developer to apply for the land title from relevant authorities on a timely basis. Therefore, house buyers can by virtue of their sale and purchase agreements compel the vendors under the terms and conditions of the agreements for the issuance of land titles,” she said.
Kho, who is also the political secretary to the Premier, said from 2019 to 2023 there were a total of 621 private housing projects in Sarawak.
Out of the total, 33 were overdue for more than two years from their respective deadlines.
“In another words, 95 per cent of the private housing projects were able to meet deadlines while five per cent of the sick housing projects were mostly due to developers going into liquidation.
“It is the financing banks and landowners’ own right to deal with the projects. They are about legal disputes, not for the government to intervene, except for cases under the housing tribunal,” she said..
Thus, in the case of land titles in Taman Kelian in Kota Sentosa, Kho said, it was the financing banks and landowners’ own right to deal with the issues.
She believed Chong, who is now Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman would know better as it involved legal issues and disputes for the judiciary to determine, which the government should not in any way interfere with.
