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PETALING JAYA (Aug 14): A management dispute has emerged at Green Garden Flats in Paya Terubong, Penang, after the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) appointed a new company to manage the 2,255-unit residential scheme, according to Sin Chew Daily.
The existing manager, Nostalgia Kencana Sdn Bhd, and about 30 residents held a press conference on Aug 10 to object to the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) COB's appointment of EAD Sdn Bhd, saying residents had not been consulted over the change.
According to Sin Chew Daily, the appointment was prompted by the failure to hold an annual general meeting (AGM) since 2019. Residents were reportedly informed that the existing management had been replaced after the authorities found that no AGM had been convened for about seven years.
Green Garden’s Management Corporation (MC) chairman Leong Jen Yuk said EAD representatives arrived at the development on Aug 4 with a letter from the COB stating that the company had been appointed to take over management of the flats from Aug 1.
She questioned why the change was made without an AGM or an open tender process.
According to Leong, Nostalgia Kencana resumed management of the flats following an AGM in 2019 and has maintained the monthly maintenance charge at RM55, comprising RM50 in maintenance charges and RM5 for the sinking fund.
She said the management had overseen the upgrading of 16 lifts, security and cleaning services, and responses to power disruptions and water leaks.
Sin Chew Daily added that EAD Property was appointed for a one-year period, from Aug 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027.
Leong said an AGM had been planned for Aug 15, but the existing management was subsequently informed that the COB would not accept the proposed meeting.
A residents' representative identified as Lim called for the existing management to be given time to convene an AGM so residents could decide who should manage the development. He also expressed concern that maintenance charges could rise under a new arrangement.
MCA Bukit Gelugor division vice-chairman Chooi Foo Cheong, meanwhile, urged the authorities to consider residents' views and called on the existing management to disclose its accounts so residents could compare the available management options.
Green Garden Flats has an estimated occupancy rate of 70% and more than 9,000 residents. It has previously been the subject of management disputes.
In 2012, Nostalgia Kencana Sdn Bhd pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawfully collecting maintenance charges from units in Green Garden Flats’ Blocks 1062 and 1066, and was fined RM8,000, according to Sin Chew Daily. The charge concerned collections made in 2011 and was separate from the present dispute.
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