Rehda calls for COVID-19 force majeure exemption bill

PETALING JAYA (April 8): The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) wants the government to enact an all-encompassing force majeure exemption bill or a COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill to lawfully protect business owners in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a media statement today, Rehda president Datuk Soam Heng Choon (pictured) said it is crucial to have such a bill to ensure that every player across industries is safeguarded against any form of penalisation that would be imposed under normal circumstances.

Soam said the Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country has resulted in all non-essential activities being halted, this has impacted the livelihood of the people in all industries with many unable to perform their contractual obligations.

"For instance, in the property sector, buyers are now unable to fulfill their obligations with regards to various processes like completing documentation and progress payment which must be made within 21 days as financial institutions have scaled down operations in adherence to the MCO.

"Developers are also likely not able to meet their completion deadlines as a result of the MCO which has affected the whole supply chain, thus it will take longer to achieve optimum output from construction activities on site.

“Rehda is of the opinion that the enactment of such a bill (force majeure exemption bill or a COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill) will be beneficial not only to purchasers, developers, financiers and other property industry players, but also those in other industries that form Malaysia’s economic ecosystem,” Soam stressed.

Such a bill, he added will go a long way to protect all parties from being deemed to be in breach of a contract due to the inability to perform any obligation of the contract as this unprecedented pandemic outbreak is expected to have long-term effects in all imaginable aspects.

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