PEPS rebukes proposal of separate board for property, facility and strata managers

PETALING JAYA (Oct 31): The Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS) has rebuked a proposal to separate board to register and regulate property, facility and strata managers as property management is interrelated with other professions.

“Property management is a profession and valuers are trained in valuation, estate agency and property management which are interrelated. There should be no separate boards as the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP) itself acknowledges that these three areas, i.e. valuation, estate agency and property management are intertwined,” the association said in a press statement today.

PEPS added that being in the same board is about staying together and having the same status as valuers and estate agents of the same standing, while the opening up of the property management profession serves to expand the board’s composition to enhance all these three areas.

“Malaysia has a properly regulated valuation, estate agency and property management profession that is second to none in the world. It is for other countries to emulate Malaysia rather than a very small minority of Malaysians to take unnecessary pot shots at a properly regulated profession,” it said.

The statement was issued in response to the recent statements made by the Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers (MIPFM) president Sarkunan Subramaniam that the institute and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) will be discussing the viability of having a separate board of property and facility managers.

“PEPS questions whether the statements allegedly made by Sarkunan Subramaniam, president of MIPFM were just his personal views and made in his personal capacity or has [he] received the mandate from the general membership and was speaking on behalf of all MIPFM members.

"PEPS strongly disagrees with the comments made by Sarkunan Subramaniam and stands by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP) to regulate the profession.

"The profession has made substantial progress under the regulatory framework of the board,” the statement read.