Has anyone ever ask whether the apartment blocks be maintained due to its wear and tear? Hot humid high temperature tropical weather is not kind to anything.
Has anyone ever ask whether that apartment blocks be repainted, considering its age and the faded paints that everyone can see now?
Has anyone ask how much it cost to maintain the buildings and how much it would cost to repaint the buildings?
Has anyone ever ask where will the money come from to maintain and to repaint the building?
Has anyone ever ask how to get that money for maintaining and for repainting the buildings?
Has anyone ever ask whether its fair to ask the apartments owners to foot the bill as it was ever or even mentioned in the sales and purchase agreement or even in the maintenance agreement? And the management had never ever collect the a ‘sinking fund’ for the buildings maintenance.
Has anyone ever ask if the owners are to foot any bill now, how is the collection to be made? If anyone refuses to pay, how will the management enforce that collection?
And most important of all, has anyone asked about the audited account of our maintenance fees of RM 150.00 that we each had been paying for so many years now since we occupied the apartments?
I imagine, we have big rivers to cross ahead.
And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Happenings!
What is happening in the apartments now? The Management seems to be calling meetings of those involved (who?) in the apartments affairs so very often now. New management? Or problems? With whom? They have never done this earlier (before), and I have been living in the apartments for almost 10 years now (give a take a few years of my life). Something must be brewing! In the past it had always been the case, or seemingly the case, "I know what I am doing, and I don't need your advice"
I have heard so much hearsay about the happenings that I get very confused. I shall refrain from writing what I have heard until I get the facts right.
And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).
I have heard so much hearsay about the happenings that I get very confused. I shall refrain from writing what I have heard until I get the facts right.
And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).
Monday, October 6, 2008
we are mere actors.
William Shakespeare - All the world's a stage (from As You Like It 2/7)
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
This is one of my favourite saying of Shakespeare. It reflects very well on our well being in this world. And to micro this, we are all players, all actors, and in the concept of our being in this world and to being members of this apartment, we are all actors. We are here today and gone tomorrow. And so for now we are to play our part in the show. Each one of us has to contribute to make the show a success. We are to contribute to the well being of this community, we cannot just stand alone, and say “Let it be, our neighbours can take care of themselves, and I don’t depend on my neighbours”. In a way I agree, you are here today, and gone tomorrow, shift out, sell the apartment, or even die. But while you are here, you are to play your part.
I bet, many of us here are experienced or may have contacts outside the community or even a member of that ‘power’ community, Why don’t we use that experience of that ‘power’ to better this small community? If one cannot better this small community, how can one expect to better a bigger community, or even the Municipality, or the District, or the State, or the country or even the world. Of course one can just keep quiet and play safe in the status quo, as the Malay says “Macam anau dalam belukar”, you is you and I is I, we just fight for the sunlight.
Do we want our small community to have members like that?
And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
This is one of my favourite saying of Shakespeare. It reflects very well on our well being in this world. And to micro this, we are all players, all actors, and in the concept of our being in this world and to being members of this apartment, we are all actors. We are here today and gone tomorrow. And so for now we are to play our part in the show. Each one of us has to contribute to make the show a success. We are to contribute to the well being of this community, we cannot just stand alone, and say “Let it be, our neighbours can take care of themselves, and I don’t depend on my neighbours”. In a way I agree, you are here today, and gone tomorrow, shift out, sell the apartment, or even die. But while you are here, you are to play your part.
I bet, many of us here are experienced or may have contacts outside the community or even a member of that ‘power’ community, Why don’t we use that experience of that ‘power’ to better this small community? If one cannot better this small community, how can one expect to better a bigger community, or even the Municipality, or the District, or the State, or the country or even the world. Of course one can just keep quiet and play safe in the status quo, as the Malay says “Macam anau dalam belukar”, you is you and I is I, we just fight for the sunlight.
Do we want our small community to have members like that?
And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).
Friday, October 3, 2008
Do we really care?
Do the owners of the apartments really care? Not really, not many really do. To many the apartments are just where they dump the excess money that they have, just use the apartments as an investment arm in the property ownership. A few are not even interested to collect rent (that is my impression anyway), they just left their apartments empty, though many do rent their apartments out. Here again they just rent these apartments without really taking care of the tenants, where at the end of the month they just come to collect the rents , though I suspect a few may just ask the tenants to remit the rent money into a bank account. These are evident in their not taking care of the physical well beings of the apartments, many apartments have roof leaks (the top storey flats), plumbing in bad state (or even leaking) and many tenants may even use (or may even rewire or add wirings) illegal electrical extensions which are fire hazard. Such bad states of the apartments have caused a high turnover of tenants, and some owner are even renting these apartments at a very low asking price (so I hear). A good cared and furnished apartment may be rented out at an asking price off RM 1500 a month (USD1 = RM3.3) but some owners are renting these apartments for as low as RM 600 a month (so I hear) because of the unmaintained state of them.
A few other evidence of my impression in that ‘we do not care’ is in the payment of maintenance fees. Currently we are paying RM150 a month (at least I do), and this is tied down to a non-payment means that water supply will be cut off. I wonder if the present management has been able to collect that RM150 from each apartment owner/occupier for the maintenance fees, and I also wonder if water supply to these ‘unpaid’ apartments have been cut off. Perhaps they do take the necessary action, but personally I see very limited evidence. And nobody makes any noise about the buildings not being repainted. And recently on the ‘call’ for the owners meeting, so that the owners can take part (and have more say) in the management of the complex, I am told that not many owners turned up (I have never attended these meetings because I am always outstation when they call these meetings, most inconvenient time to me).
Physically, do we care?
Leaking bathroom floor, seen as stalagtite on the carpark ceiling.
Swimming pool floor, tiles broken off.
Children playground, swing seats needing repairs.
And do we care for our neighbours? My mind is blurred on this. Many just throw pieces of paper and wrapppings indiscriminately, plastic bags and food containers not put in proper bins. And at night many still rev their motorcycle engines and car engines when coming in into or going out of the compound, after midnight, or even in the early hours of the morning mind you (some are the residents visitors no doubt). And some even doing carpentry (and dragging of furniture) in the middle of the night, or even pounding on the stone mortar, cooking. All the noises are projected throughout the building structure, transferring the noise throughout the building.
When I bought the apartment about 10 odd (or so) years ago, it cost me about RM150,000 but because of the present ‘neglect’ I do not know what the present value of my apartment is now, granted that property price in Kuantan is not as lucrative as that of Kuala Lumpur.
There are other apartments complex like this in Kuantan Town, and one of two are better maintained and they attract better market price in rental (their tenants are in a better/different class) and in property transaction/demand.
And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).
A few other evidence of my impression in that ‘we do not care’ is in the payment of maintenance fees. Currently we are paying RM150 a month (at least I do), and this is tied down to a non-payment means that water supply will be cut off. I wonder if the present management has been able to collect that RM150 from each apartment owner/occupier for the maintenance fees, and I also wonder if water supply to these ‘unpaid’ apartments have been cut off. Perhaps they do take the necessary action, but personally I see very limited evidence. And nobody makes any noise about the buildings not being repainted. And recently on the ‘call’ for the owners meeting, so that the owners can take part (and have more say) in the management of the complex, I am told that not many owners turned up (I have never attended these meetings because I am always outstation when they call these meetings, most inconvenient time to me).
Physically, do we care?
Leaking bathroom floor, seen as stalagtite on the carpark ceiling.
Swimming pool floor, tiles broken off.
Children playground, swing seats needing repairs.
And do we care for our neighbours? My mind is blurred on this. Many just throw pieces of paper and wrapppings indiscriminately, plastic bags and food containers not put in proper bins. And at night many still rev their motorcycle engines and car engines when coming in into or going out of the compound, after midnight, or even in the early hours of the morning mind you (some are the residents visitors no doubt). And some even doing carpentry (and dragging of furniture) in the middle of the night, or even pounding on the stone mortar, cooking. All the noises are projected throughout the building structure, transferring the noise throughout the building.
When I bought the apartment about 10 odd (or so) years ago, it cost me about RM150,000 but because of the present ‘neglect’ I do not know what the present value of my apartment is now, granted that property price in Kuantan is not as lucrative as that of Kuala Lumpur.
There are other apartments complex like this in Kuantan Town, and one of two are better maintained and they attract better market price in rental (their tenants are in a better/different class) and in property transaction/demand.
And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).
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