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KOTA KINABALU – Owners of 252 units of serviced suites at the Ming Garden Residences here, who are claiming over RM7 million of rental arrears from the Sabah Urban Development Corporation (SUDC), resorted to a protest to get the state government’s attention.
They invested over RM400,000 for each unit and were guaranteed nine years of returns from the SUDC, which leased the units from owners to run as a hotel.
However, due to the tourism sector’s downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and closed borders, unit owners have not been paid for 31 months since January 2020.
At a protest outside Ming Garden Hotel here yesterday, Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents president Datuk Winston Liaw, who represented the owners, said the state government has to intervene as the matter involves a government-linked company.
“I hope the state cabinet will bring the matter up at its next meeting. We urge relevant departments to take immediate steps to resolve the issues. We ask the government and ministers to help us; please save us,” he told reporters.
The unit owners still have to repay their loans and do not even have their keys as Ming Garden’s management team – Yuan Ming Construction Properties Sdn Bhd – has denied them their keys.
Liaw said that the rental arrears were discussed with the SUDC management team and Yuan Ming in mid-2020, and tenants were told that payment cannot be made due to the impacted tourism sector.
At the time, SUDC and Yuan Ming promised to pay the outstanding rental arrears as soon as the borders reopened, but the payments did not materialise.
“SUDC is a government-linked company. Why is it so hard to pay us peanuts? If SUDC cannot pay, then let its parent company Sedco pay,” Liaw said.
Kota Kinabalu DAP MP Chan Foong Hin and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat vice-president Datuk Ronnie Loh Ee Eng also joined the protest, both urging for Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor to intervene and take action against SUDC and Yuan Ming.
Chan added that he found it ridiculous that the owners were denied the keys to their own houses. – The Vibes, August 14, 2022
