Answer for Oral Question PL291

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Awang Lawi bin Haji Lamat

YANG BERHORMAT AWANG LAWI BIN HAJI LAMAT asked the MINISTER OF DEVELOPMENT to state, with reference to Section 57 of the Building Control Act, which stipulates that the maintenance of premises is the responsibility of the owners, the number of compound fines and notices issued to building owners who failed to comply with cleanliness and safety standards, and what more aggressive enforcement measures are planned to reduce dependence on the Government.

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri Pembangunan

For information, Section 57 of the Building Control Act (Chapter 256) provides that the owners and occupants of commercial buildings are responsible for ensuring that the buildings and their surrounding areas are always clean, safe and well-maintained. Therefore, the responsibility for maintenance lies with the owners and occupants of the buildings, and not the Government.

To date, no compound fines have been imposed under Section 57. In implementing this provision, the Ministry’s current approach is to emphasise compliance through consultation, coordination and the issuance of reminder letters. This approach has successfully resolved several maintenance issues involving commercial buildings.

For example, in the Bangunan Muhibbah I and II commercial area in Kampung Menglait, five (5) reminder letters have been issued since 2023, in addition to several discussion sessions with the developer, building owners and occupants. As a result of this coordination, road repair works were successfully completed on 14 October 2025.

Similarly, in the Batu Bersurat commercial area, six (6) reminder letters were issued to the developer until an agreement was reached to carry out road repairs, which were completed on 3 November 2025. Meanwhile, the section of road that had been handed over to the Government was repaired by the Public Works Department.

To strengthen enforcement, the Ministry has formulated several measures to be implemented in phases, as follows:

As an immediate measure, ABCi granted a Delegation of Power under Section 3(2) of the Building Control Act (Chapter 256), effective from 25 October 2025, to the Municipal Departments, District Departments, Housing Development Department and Tourism Development Department to exercise powers under Section 57. To date, these agencies have issued reminder letters for their respective areas of control.

The Ministry also conducted several briefings for the relevant agencies from 21 to 23 October 2025 and on 2 July 2026 regarding procedures for handling complaints and implementing enforcement action.

The Ministry of Development will continue its cooperation with the agencies/departments that have been granted the authority to strengthen awareness programmes through dialogue sessions, briefings and dissemination of information to building owners regarding their responsibilities under the Building Control Act (Chapter 256). This approach aims to foster proactive good maintenance practices among building owners, while enforcement action will be used as a last resort against parties that continue to fail to comply with the provisions of the law.