CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

I refer to "Good life turns sour for apartment owners" in Malaysiakini.

I felt sad reading about the plight the people are in through no fault of their own.

Segi Objective (M) Sdn Bhd. and Vibrant Leisure Sdn Bhd. are both 100%-owned subsidiaries of MK Land Holdings Bhd.

Isn't it the responsibility of MK Land Holdings Bhd. to ensure that its subsidiaries fulfil all obligations to their customers?

In the event the subsidiaries cannot fulfil those obligations, doesn't the parent corporation, in this case MK Land Holdings Bhd., have to make full restitution to the customers, such as a full refund of all monies paid, with interest, so as to make it as though the customer never had any dealings with the subsidiaries?

Shouldn't the parent corporation also pay any legal fees involved and compensate the customers for the time they wasted?

My opinion is that a corporation cannot disclaim responsibility for the acts or promises or statements of its subsidiaries or employees.

I also think that MK Land Holdings Bhd. should sort out the mess caused by its subsidiaries if Mustapha Kamal (the MK behind MK Land) wishes to maintain his good name and the good reputation of MK Land for social responsibility.

My suggestions to avoid a repeat of problems with a developer:

The developer have to set up a Trust Fund to fulfil any future obligations OR require all developers pay into an insurance pool that will compensate buyers AND require that developers obtain funds from banks, not buyers, to build projects AND the banks carefully assess the developers before providing a loan. The insurance company will also have to be careful that only capable developers can be part of the pool.

Build quality should also be paramount. Contractors should employ specialists, a carpenter to to do carpentry, a roofer to do roofs, an electrician to do wiring, etc. rather than employing people who are a "jack of all trades" and do nothing well except mucking things up.

Government can help by licensing trained tradespeople, e.g. plumbers and electricians and ensuring they do only tasks they are licensed for. The handbills stuffed in letterboxes saying "We are specialized in" and then listing 10 or more things should become a thing of the past as Malaysia develops.

To provide trained tradespeople vocational colleges will be needed.

The Education Ministry can assist by ensuring there are sufficient places in the vocational colleges for the electricians, auto mechanics, etc.

See how the construction industry and Education Ministry are linked?

Everything is linked in modern societies.

To become a fully developed nation Malaysia has to develop all types of links within society, education, industry, government, social services, agriculture, to name a few.

written by Pakac Luteb