Free For All?

During a morning kopi-o drink with my friends in a kopitiam, some of my friends said the argument of Competition Act creating chaos could not hold any water. They reasoned even before Competition Act comes into law, Sibu Coffeeshop and Restaurant Owners Association has no control over its members charging public higher prices than recommended by Sibu Coffeeshop and Restaurant Owners Association during or after Chinese New Year.

Any kopitiams or outlets deciding to charge more will risk losing its customers as once ‘cheated’ by sudden increase in price public will move to other outlets. The only thing council or ministry of domestic trade & co-operative and consumerism should enforce is to make sure all prices of drinks and food listed on each table so that public will know prices before ordering. If too expensive public can decide to stay or move to other outlets.

Will the authority proceed to declare food and drinks sold in kopitiams and food outlet as “controlled item” if prices of food and drinks ‘out of control’ as claimed in the news? One friend jokingly suggested the authority should set the profit margin of all food and drinks prepared and sold in kopitiams and food outlets to 10-20% maximum. That will create a win-win situation perhaps?

[Click the picture to read in full size]

[Click the picture to read in full size]

It was reported in today’s Sin Chew Newspaper saying Certificate of Fitness for Occupation (CFO) has not been issued to the house involved in the brutal killing at Jalan RTM, Sibu.

The president of developers association Lau Ga King said without CFO developers could still proceed to obtain water and electricity supply for the house.

Mr. Lau also said it is required under council’s law and regulation that terrace house and semi detached house must have 9 inches thick of fire-wall (equivalent to 2 pieces brick size) up to the roof to prevent spread of fire and those with ulterior motive to climb over to next doors via space between roof and ceiling.

With these information, council should be able to come up with the following plan:

1) Council’s architect must check on the quality of finished houses (for any sinking or cracks on the building) as well as checking fire-wall as mentioned above up to the roof before issuing certificate of fitness for occupation. The developers of the housing project must sign a letter of indemnity to take full responsibility of any defects discovered and any harm incurred owing to the defects/poor workmanship of the houses in the next 3 years. Photos should be taken by architect to prove that proper inspection has been carried out before issuing CFO and these photos must be properly filed with the relevant documents for future reference.

2) Certificate of Fitness for Occupation must be obtained before water and electricity supply could be approved to prevent house owners taking the risk of living in ‘defective’ houses.

3) For existing houses that do not have the proper fire-wall council should contact developers to have it completed as soon as possible.

Police believe quadruple murder solved

After intensive investigation by polis force, at last the criminal identified. But some would say if the terrace houses in the region has proper walls built (inside the ceiling) to prevent illegal entry from neighboring terraced or semi detached house units via ceiling such brutal killing and similar tragedies can be avoided.

To prevent similar thing from happening, please make it a law that all semi detached and terraced houses must have full brick or concrete walls inside the ceiling to prevent spread of fire as well as case like this – murder from repeating!

If I am not wrong in Johor Bahru it is a must that adjacents walls with neighboring units must reach the roof to prevent fire from spreading as well as illegal entry through the opening in the space between roof and ceiling.

It is not difficult to move from one house to another if there is no walls between roof and ceiling. You just use a ladder to climb into your ceiling and from there you walk on the wooden frame into all the houses next to yours. Just imagine if a criminal can access it what will happen next? If you are having terrace or semi detach house make sure there is no such ‘loophole’.

Councillors in Sarawak should learn something from this brutal murder case especially when come to issuing CFO (Certificate Of Fitness For Occupation). Please make sure the adjacent walls that separate terrace houses or semi detached houses are built right to the roof top. If a law need to be passed in State Cabinet please do it. A new concrete house will give house buyer ‘false sense’ of security when in actual fact the houses they bought could be ‘defective’.