SHAREDA President, Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping applauds the initiative of the Sabah State Government at it’s recent State Legislative Assembly sitting to have passed the amended enactment of the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Enactment 2020 (No. 5 year 2020) for the extension of the exemption period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 to housing developers and homebuyers, as read and presented in full details by YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Local Government And Housing.

Datuk Chua stressed that it has been a huge sigh of relief while waiting in duress by the impeded housing developers on their affected projects, which will ultimately resolve issues pertaining to arbitrary and/or mitigation with their buyers for the extension of time (EOT) due to Covid-19 pandemic. The main salient points in the amended sections involving besides the exemption period for developers and homebuyers, it also covered the exemption period such as for late payment charges, delivery of vacant passion of the house, defect liability period, and etc. Pending for the aforesaid official gazette to be issued and circulated to us.

He said, “If, the EOT is not extended, it will cause the delay in delivery houses in accordance to the Sales and Purchase Agreement. The late delivery will be computed into Liquidated And Ascertained Damages (LAD) which may cause the payout of millions of ringgit as compensation to buyers, though no fault of the developers. Then, our fellow housing developers will be devasted with the financial burden which some may even face huge losses and office closure, in the worse scenario.”

He added, “The effective date for the Sales & Purchase Agreement is made before 28th May 2021 instead of 31st May 2021 as stipulated, due to the Harvest Festival Holidays in Sabah which falls on 30th and 31st May 2021.”

Our Parliament had since passed the Temporary Measures Act made on 23 December 2021 and whereas Sarawak state passed on 22.09.2021, respectively. Taking note of each respective extension time differs from Sabah’s. Finally, our Sabah state has just obtained the approval for the amended Enactment on 01.12.2022 which we hope that the measures will clear up any litigation cases.

SHAREDA expressed its gratitude and thank our state government for the initiatives and considerations to render assistance to the housing developers and homebuyers among other parties affected by Covid-19 which entailed the entire economic supply chain impacted by the implementations of various Movement Control Orders and the phased National Recovery Plan underway currently.