GEORGE TOWN – Stern actions will be taken against joint management bodies and management corporations that fail to comply with the Covid-19 standard operating procedures to curb the spread of the virus in stratified buildings.
State Housing, Local Government and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that no punishments have been issued so far, and the majority of the stratified buildings in Penang have adhered with the SOPs gazetted by the Health Ministry since April 6 this year.
He said that to date over 1,400 high-rise buildings in Penang have conducted compliance checks and recorded an SOP compliance rate of over 99%.
“Meanwhile, those (stratified buildings) that did not comply with SOPs have been given warnings so that they are aware and make necessary changes.
“I have warned both city councils that if any of these premises still do not comply with SOPs, firm actions will be taken,” he said here today.
Jagdeep said that the SOP in stratified buildings should be highly addressed as the dense population within the small area served as a potential threat against Covid-19 infection.
According to him, there are 1,881 registered stratified buildings in Penang.
“Up until now, prevention is still better than cure and the only thing Penangites can do is to comply with standard operating procedures.
“We do not want one or two individuals to jeopardise the health and security of every other Penangite,” he added.
Earlier today, Jagdeep announced that the state government has approved to bear 80% of the maintenance fee to replace 16 water tanks for two blocks in Mewah Court apartment.
He said that the overall maintenance cost for the 16 water tanks is RM468,000 and the state would allocate RM374,400 from the state’s maximum 80% maintenance fund.
“The replacement work is expected to take around eight weeks, and they can proceed with work after Mewah Court has settled 20% of the maintenance fee,” he added.
It is learned that the existing water tanks in the Mewah Court apartment are 30 years old. – Bernama, November 23, 2020