LETTER | Abandoned buildings: Are we aware of them?

Malaysia is a country that is now heading towards rapid modernisation, especially in economy and tourism, whether domestic or international.

We can see all the best forms of development in Malaysia such as the magnificent Petronas Twin Towers and the Tun Razak Exchange Tower (TRX). But many of us are not aware or close one eye over the increasing number of abandoned buildings across the nation.

People think ‘modernisation’ is when we can have the highest buildings in the world in order to attract tourists to visit Malaysia and gain a plethora of profits towards our economy.

We can’t deny this statement, but the point is, why we do we let some buildings be abandoned in the first place instead of focusing on preserving or giving some benefits to these poor concretes? Don’t we think wisely about the effect it would have in the future?

According to a source from the National Housing Department, housing project contributed to the highest number of abandoned buildings in Malaysia, which an estimation of 300 projects that cannot be done by the developers. This situation is very critical, and it can be worse if the government takes it easy.

The main factor that caused this issue is due to irresponsible developers in not continuing the project. Most of them did not plan their strategy and manage their finances well until a financial crisis occurs which then leads to project delays.

Lack of qualification and action of the developers and engineers in developing the buildings. 

For example, the Highland Tower which accidentally collapsed on Dec 11, 1993, caused by the instability of the pile foundation.

The engineers did not consider the horizontal load during its foundation design so when the rotational retrogressive slide occurred, this forward movement downhill created a surcharge load to the foundation. Until now, the Highland Tower areas feel like a haunted place in horror movies!

Many buildings, such as the Melaka Gateway in Pulau Melaka, flat housing projects in the Klang Valley and so on, are not good for the environment and are a waste of money and land.

The government should take this issue more seriously so that it does not drag on and at the same time adversely affect the country.

In this regard, the move by the Housing and Local Government Ministry to formulate a new policy related to abandoned housing projects is an effort that should be commended.

Making the law stricter towards developers is also one of the best solutions so that they will be more responsible.

Licensed housing developers who fail to complete a housing project and cause it to be abandoned will be deemed to have committed a criminal offence under the amendment of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966.

If convicted, the developer can be fined not less than RM250,000 and not more than RM500,000 or imprisoned for not more than three years, or both.

The best solutions to deal with the issue of abandoned buildings to me are rebuilding and maintaining.

Just look at Kemayan City in Johor Baru, which was abandoned since 1998, but now it has been refurbished and has been turned into a shopping mall, called the Paradigm Mall. The mall opened its doors in November 2017.

I suggest the government to renovate abandoned buildings especially in the Klang Valley and open up opportunities for local businesses to gain a foothold by offering low and affordable rental prices.

This can also improve the economy and can elevate the status of Malaysian-made products as the main choice in this country.

The government is our biggest hope to solve the problem of the mushrooming abandoned buildings and make our country more environment friendly.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.