Getting Down To The Nitty Gritty

Above: A pretty good bunch of people. I look petrified for some unknown reason. Below: It's all work at 10am in the morning on a Saturday!





It’s a scary thing, being voted into the Joint Management Body of a condominium. This is where you’re representing 2000 plus residents and their hard earned money that is being poured into making Casa Desa a safe and ideal home. Now I’m sure some of you who are lucky enough to own landed properties probably don’t give a hoot. And those renting out probably couldn’t care less except paying the rent each month. That’s perfectly fine.I wanted the responsibility out of curiousity and out of a need to make things better.

But its scary to have the responsibility. It really is.

Thank God the people elected alongside me are a wonderful, varied bunch of respectable citizens. And it starts with Wong Lai Fong, who was the secretary of the group when it first began (informally) but worked so hard and tirelessly that we HAD to give her the position. I mean, she worked 24/7 to make every building and maintenance fault known to us and to Faber Union, putting them on the backfoot from day one. From potholes to dangling wires, she had an eagle eye for spotting them that would make snipers in Swat Valley green with envy. I’m sure every time she comes around, the staff at the developer office go scrambling for cover. Or take a long toilet break.

Then there’s Jonathan, a la Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, with the toothy smile of an innocent boy and the wisdom of a sage. Can be as fiery as ol’ LKY himself too. Being the owner of another unit in nearby Danau Permai and involved in it’s body corporation he also had Faber Union staff wishing they never had their jobs.

But then again, while the staff at Faber Union have exactly been giving us 5-star service (not even 2, come to think of it) it’s not their fault.

Today, at our first Joint Management Body meeting with the developer representatives, much of it seems to be the fault of sub-contractors who can’t be traced or have problems responding to rectification work. And the problem with middle class condominiums like ours is that there are a lot of these to contend with.

I’m just happy to have the right people by my side. I’ll be content with looking after the residents/owners website which I believe is a great communication tool and can save all the unnecessary costs that go with printing newsletters and flyers, etc. I’ll be ably aided by fellow residents Kok Weng and Kenneth. As they say, things can only get better from here.