RISM, and other professional bodies appeal for their valuation businesses to operate

PETALING JAYA (July 31): Real estate and construction professional bodies call for their valuation, surveyor businesses to operate again.

The six professional bodies are the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM), the (PEPS), the Malaysian Institute of Property & Facility Managers (MIPFM), the Malaysian Institute of Professional Estate Agents & Consultants (MIPEAC), the Business Valuers Association of Malaysia (BVAM) and the Persatuan Perunding Hartanah Muslim Malaysia (PEHAM).

PEPS president Michael Kong said: “We are one of the [key] services in the loan and financing industry. But for loans to be dispersed, valuations need to be done. Thus, a lot of loans are halted now because we are not allowed to operate our businesses [due to the Movement Control Orders (MCOs) and restrictions].

“We have been receiving a lot of pressure from lawyers and banks about our deadlines, and possible penalties. We have been giving them [the banks] alternative solutions, but they have not been received favourably, so far. This is the issue we are trying to fix.”

The professional bodies represent property surveyors, quantity surveyors, geomatics and land surveyors, building surveyors, valuers, appraisers, estate agents, real estate negotiators, property managers and property consultants across the nation. Overall, the collective membership stands at 15,000.

PEPS past president Foo Gee Jen said: “An important part for the National Recovery Plan is movement in the capital markets. Banks would depend on [valuation] to secure their collateral for the borrowers.

“On a larger scale, (for) listed companies that may need funding for expansion, loans that may go up to hundreds of million cannot be processed due to no valuation reports for the banks [to refer]. The [inability] to get funding will in turn cause delays in the projects. It’s a snowball effect.”

Some solutions proposed by the professional bodies are for virtual inspections to be accepted, and for their skeleton staff to be able to work at their respective offices (on a staggered basis).

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