By-laws governing strata property management in Malaysia, part 1

Third Schedule of Strata Management Regulation 2015

WITH the demise of the Deed of Mutual Covenants, the Third Schedule of the Strata Management Regulation 2015, now known as by-laws and any additional by-laws made under the Strata Management Act 2013 (“the Act”) shall bind the developer, the joint management body, the management corporation or the subsidiary management corporation, as the case may be, along with the purchaser, parcel owners or proprietors.

It also binds any chargee or assignee, lessee, tenant or occupier, of a parcel to the same extent as if the by-laws or the additional bylaws have been signed or sealed by each person or body mentioned above, and contain mutual covenants to observe, comply and perform all the provisions of the bylaws or additional by-laws.

These by-laws shall apply to any development area:

• during the management by the developer before the joint management body is established;
• during the management by the joint management body;
• during the management by the developer before the first annual general meeting of the management corporation;
• during the management by the management corporation after first annual general meeting of the management corporation ; and
• during the management by the subsidiary management corporation after it has been established in respect of the limited common property .

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE BY-LAWS

Functions of the management corporation are to maintain in a state of good condition, service and repair, where necessary, including:

• renew or upgrade the fixtures and fittings, lifts, installations, equipment, devices and appliances existing in the development area and used or capable of being used or enjoyed by occupiers of two or more parcels;
• maintain, repair and, where necessary, renew or upgrade sewers, pipes, wires, cables and ducts existing in the development area and used or capable of being used in connection with the enjoyment of more than one parcel or the common property;
• where applicable, establish and maintain suitable lawns and gardens on the common property;
• where applicable, manage, maintain and secure suitable operators for any of the common utilities, amenities and services in the common property, such as launderette, convenience store, cafeteria, nursery and others, to reasonable standards of safety and health for the convenience, comfort and enjoyment of the proprietors and occupiers;
• renew and upgrade common property where necessary for the purpose of retaining and adding the market value of parcels in the development area;
• on the written request of a proprietor of a parcel and on payment of a fee, which shall not exceed RM50, furnish to the proprietor, or to a person authorised in writing by the proprietor, the copies of all policies of insurance effected under the Act or effected against such other risks as directed by the proprietors by a special resolution, together with the copies of the receipts for the last premiums paid in respect of the policies;
• set up, manage and maintain proper procurement procedures and tender process in a fair and transparent manner for all purchases, acquisitions or awards of contracts in connection with the management and maintenance of the common property;
• set up, manage and maintain a good credit control system in the collection of maintenance charges and contribution to the sinking fund and any other charges lawfully imposed by the management corporation; administer and enforce the bylaws and any additional by-laws made under the Act; and
• and without delay, enter in the strata roll, any change or dealing notified to it by any proprietor.

COMMON PROPERTY FOR COMMON BENEFIT

The management corporation shall control, manage and administer the common property for the benefit of all the proprietors, provided that the management corporation, by written agreement with a particular proprietor, grant him for a defined period of time, the exclusive use and enjoyment of part of the common property or special privileges in respect of the common property or part of it, subject to appropriate terms and conditions to be stipulated by the management corporation.

To impose a fine, the management corporation may, by a resolution at a general meeting, do so, of such amount as shall be determined by that general meeting against any person who is in breach of any by-law or any additional bylaws made under the Act.

It is important to note that defaulters of service charges et cetera, can have theirs and their family’s access card denied and also be imposed a fine.

A defaulter is a proprietor who has not fully paid the charges or contribution to the sinking fund in respect of his parcel or any other money imposed by or due and payable to the management corporation under the Act, at the expiry of the period of 14 days of receiving a notice from the management corporation. Any restriction or action imposed against a defaulter shall include his family or any chargee, assignee, successor-intitle, lessee, tenant or occupier of his parcel.

If any sum remains unpaid by the proprietor at the expiry of the period of 14 days, the proprietor shall pay interest at the rate of 10% per annum on a daily basis or at such rate as shall be determined by the management corporation at a general meeting, until the date of actual payment of the sum due.

The management corporation may prepare a defaulters’ list showing the names of the defaulting proprietors, their respective parcels and the amount of the sum that remains unpaid. The management corporation may also display the list of defaulters’ names on the notice boards at the building, provided that such a list shall be updated by the management corporation at the end of every following calendar month.

The management corporation may, at the expiry of the period of 14 days, and without prior notice, deactivate any electromagnetic access device, such as a card, tag or transponder, issued to a defaulter until such time, that any sum remaining unpaid in respect of his parcel has been fully paid, together with a charge not exceeding RM50 that may be imposed by the management corporation for the reactivation of his electromagnetic access device. During the period of the deactivation of his electromagnetic access device, the management corporation may require the proprietor to sign in a defaulters’ register book each time that the defaulter requires any assistance for entry into or exit from the building or the development area. The management corporation may also stop or suspend a defaulter from using the common facilities or common services provided by the management corporation, including any car park bay in the common property that has been designated for the use of the defaulter.

The management corporation may accept payment of any sum due by a defaulter which is made by his chargee, assignee, successor-in-title, lessee, tenant or occupier, and any of the aforesaid persons, who had made such payment, shall be deemed to be irrevocably authorised by the defaulter to do so.

Follow part two of our article next week touching on the general duties and prohibitions of strata title proprietors.

By DATUK PRETAM SINGH DARSHAN SINGH The Sun (Malaysia)

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Beijing wins to host Winter Olympics 2022

http://english.cntv.cn/2015/08/01/VIDE1438381810003714.shtml

Chinese captital celebrates victory

The National Stadium, or Bird Nest, is seen with giant illumination showing a message celebrating Beijing and Zhangjiakou's winning of the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

http://english.cntv.cn/2015/08/01/VIDE1438395244275676.shtml

Beijingers celebrate Olympic victory

Beijing last night was the scene of jubilation and cheering. People celebrated the news from Kuala Lumpur.

Games offers new drive to opening-up

Beijing and Zhangjiakou have won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. It's great.

Seven years after Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games, Chinese people get to embrace the Olympics again. Many still remember the passion and joy after winning the 2008 Games. Our optimism and happiness has come alive again. Chinese society is still actively seeking to host major international sports events. Such sentiment fits the country's rising momentum.

Countries in the developed world are no longer enthusiastic about holding the Olympics like they once were. They have their own calculations. But over 90 percent of people in Beijing and Zhangjiakou support their cities' hosting of the Winter Games. Such high rates of support is generally true in other parts of the country in hosting major international sports events.

Chinese people long for progress and more contact with the outside world. Many people consider the hosting of major sports events an opportunity to enhance a city's development level and help it become more international.

But there are also many who oppose hosting the Winter Games. Some of them are just following the voices of popular Western-style opponents. Others have their marginal reasons. But these opinions are not mainstream in China.

It is great that many stadiums and other pieces of infrastructure built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics can still be of use for the 2022 Games.

The 2008 Summer Games can be seen as a coming-out party for China. China has made significant progress in the seven years since it hosted the event. China's GDP leapt from the third place globally to second. Chinese people have seen more of the world.

To be frank, when Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games, many Chinese people were nervous that they might mess up the event. That is why the 2008 Games emphasized pomp and ceremony in order to demonstrate China's capabilities.

This time when we host the Winter Games, we may be able to be more relaxed, focusing on the beauty of the sports instead of laboring ourselves in ensuring a perfect event. We can try to make the 2022 Games a big party.

The 2022 Winter Games is also likely to bring concrete benefits in the coming seven years. "Olympic blue" may become a new target in dealing with air pollution. A high-speed railway between Beijing and Zhangjiakou is likely. Winter sports may become more popular.

The Winter Games will become a lasting drive for China's further opening-up. Chinese society will seek greater balance between outside criticism and China's own principles and traditions. This project will help China further integrate with the world. - Global Times

MH370 Debris found in Reunion may give clues on when plane part broke

Video: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/30/world/mh370-debris-investigation/  

Saint-Denis, Reunion Island (CNN)When investigators get an in-person view of a wing component that likely came from a Boeing 777, they'll be looking for not only a serial number but clues as to why the part broke off the Boeing 777.

Story highlights

• Independent group says damage appears to indicate flaperon came off while plane was in air
• Plane debris will be sent to investigators in France on Friday, official in Paris tells CNN
• Investigators confident debris found on an Indian Ocean island comes from a 777 aircraft

One group of independent observers said Thursday that the damage to the component -- a right wing flaperon -- should give authorities a good indication that the piece came off while the plane was still in the air.

The group, led by American Mobile Satellite Corp. co-founder Mike Exner, points to the small amount of damage to the front of the flaperon and the ragged horizontal tear across the back.

The rear damage could have been caused if the airliner had its flaperon down as it went into the ocean, some members of Exner's group wrote in a preliminary assessment after looking at photos and videos of the component.

But the lack of damage to the front makes it more likely the plane was in a high-speed, steep, spiral descent and the part fluttered until it broke off, the group said.

Boeing and Australian officials are confident the debris -- found Wednesday off the coast of a remote island in the west Indian Ocean -- came from a Boeing 777 -- and might be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a 777 that disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board.

The plane debris will be transported to France on Friday evening, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor's office said. Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said the piece will arrive in Paris on Saturday and will be sent to Toulouse, the site of the nearest office of the BEA, the French authority responsible for civil aviation accident investigations.

Exner's group -- an informal cadre of aviation experts -- said that if the flaperon were still on the wing when the plane hit water, the front would have been damaged by hitting the part of the wing to which it was attached. And the rear damage looks like it was caused by stress rather than being bent and broken off when the plane hit the water.

But an aircraft component specialist who spoke to CNN disagreed.

The lack of damage to the front section "tells me that the component could still have likely been back in its original position inside the wing itself," said Michael Kenney, senior vice president of Universal Asset Management, which provides plane components to airlines.

'Highly confident' component from Boeing 777

Boeing investigators are confident that debris found on a remote island in the Indian Ocean comes from a 777 aircraft, according to a source close to the investigation.

Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, agreed.

"We are highly confident but it still needs confirmation that it is a part from a 777 aircraft," he told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront." "The only 777 aircraft that we're aware of in the Indian Ocean that could have led to this part floating is MH370. But as I said, we still need to confirm that through closer study."

EXPAND IMAGE

People cleaning a beach found the debris Wednesday on Reunion, a French overseas territory in the western Indian Ocean.

The source said Boeing investigators feel confident the piece comes from a 777 because of photos that have been analyzed and a stenciled number that corresponds to a 777 component. A component number is not the same as a part number, which is generally much longer.

The search for MH370 48 photos

EXPAND GALLERY

Images of the debris also appear to match schematic drawings for the right wing flaperon from a Boeing 777. A flaperon helps the pilot control the aircraft. It is lightweight and has sealed chambers, making it buoyant.

Despite this confidence, no one is saying the part definitely comes from a 777, much less MH370.

Finding the debris is a "significant development" in the search for MH370, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said.

U.S. intelligence assessment focuses on cockpit activities of MH370

Investigators find no unusual signs among MH370 pilots and cabin crew

More debris

New debris, which washed ashore Thursday and appears to resemble remnants of a suitcase, is also part of the investigation, Reunion Island police officials confirmed to CNN.

Remembering the passengers of MH370 12 photos

EXPAND GALLERY

The flight vanished March 8, 2014, en route to Beijing. So far, no confirmed trace of it has been found, making it one of history's biggest aviation mysteries and leaving relatives of passengers and crew members uncertain about the fate of their loved ones.

A preliminary assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies, produced in the wake of the MH370 disaster, suggested it was likely someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the aircraft's movements before the Malaysian airliner disappeared.

Two U.S. officials briefed on the matter told CNN that the assessment, which was not intended for public release, was prepared months ago and was solely based on available satellite and other evidence.

The U.S. intelligence assessment was largely focused on the multiple course changes the aircraft made after it deviated from its scheduled Kuala Lumpur to Beijing route. Analysts determined that, absent any other evidence, it's most likely someone in the cockpit deliberately moved the aircraft to specific waypoints, crossing Indonesian territory and eventually toward the south Indian Ocean.

Malaysian investigators haven't reported finding any evidence that casts suspicion on the pilots.

The airliner's crew has been the focus of attention since the mysterious disappearance, but no proof has emerged indicating they intended to destroy the plane. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies from numerous countries examined the plane's manifest of crew and passengers and found no significant information to suggest anyone on board posed an obvious threat.

9 aviation mysteries highlight long history of disappearances

The mystery of MH370: What you need to know

Missing plate

If it does turn out to be from Flight 370, the development would reassure Australian officials that they are looking for the rest of the plane in the right area, Truss and Dolan said.

Airplane debris found in western Indian Ocean 02:27

PLAY VIDEO

"It's credible that debris from MH370 could have reached the Reunion Islands by now," Truss said.

Malaysia Airlines is sending a team of investigators to Paris and a second team to Saint-Denis, Reunion, on Friday, an airline official in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, told CNN.

It's unclear how identification will be made.

Normally identification would be aided by a small serial number plate attached to a flaperon, but the part found on the beach appears to be missing the serial number plate, according to photographs.

Other markings may be found on the part, said Kenney, the executive from Universal Asset Management. 

Australia is leading the underwater search for the remains of Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean, some 2,300 nautical miles (3,700 kilometers) east of Reunion. But Truss said that French and Malaysian authorities will be responsible for establishing whether the debris found off the island came from the missing jetliner.

Australia has offered its help, he said, including asking marine experts to look at photos of the debris to determine whether barnacles on it are "consistent with something that was floating in the oceans for 16 months or more."

Hope hangs by a thread after discovery for MH370 families

If debris is from missing plane, what's next?

Complete coverage of MH370

By Steve Almasy, Robyn Kriel and Jethro Mullen, CNN

CNN's Robyn Kriel reported from Reunion Island, Jethro Mullen reported from Hong Kong and Steve Almasy reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's David Molko, Ralph Ellis, Richard Quest, Rene Marsh, Margot Haddad Brian Walker, Ralph Ellis, Steven Jiang, Shen Lu, Serena Dong and journalist Kata Vidovic contributed to this report.

Video: http://english.cntv.cn/2015/07/31/VIDE1438309202518257.shtml

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South China Sea Conflicts won't affect Asean Cooperation

http://english.cntv.cn/2015/07/30/VIDE1438206483278724.shtml

Challenges we face are temporary

TIANJIN: China is confident that the conflicts at the South China Sea will not affect cooperation with Asean, says Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

He said China had been insisting on negotiation and consultation with the countries that also claim sovereignty in the disputed waters, and emphasising on working with Asean to uphold safety and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

“The challenges we are facing now are only temporary. There are broad prospects in the cooperation between China and Asean,” he said.

Liu was speaking to reporters together with Thai Foreign Ministry deputy permanent secretary Noppadon Theppitak after co-chairing the China-Asean senior officials’ meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC) here.

China and several countries in South-East Asia, including Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam, assert overlapping claims on the resource-rich South China Sea.

Disputes have erupted with the claimants blaming each other for building military and civil facilities on the contested reefs.

Anti-China riots broke out in Vietnam last year when China deployed an oil rig in a section of the South China Sea claimed by both countries.

The Philippines has sought international arbitration to resolve the dispute, a move criticised by China as a betrayal to the commitment to solve the issue through dialogue and negotiations.

As tension continued to flare over the disputed waters, China has openly warned Japan and the United States against meddling in the conflicts.

On Tuesday, China carried out a live-fire drill in the South China Sea to “improve its maritime combat ability”, Chinese national news agency Xinhua reported.

Citing navy sources, Xinhua said dozens of missiles and torpedoes, as well as thousands of shells and bombs, were fired during the drill.

Expressing confidence that the conflicts in the South China Sea were “manageable”, Liu said there was no need to worry.

Without naming any countries in particular, he reminded third parties not to intervene and condemn China on the issue.

“The South China Sea is not an issue between China and Asean, but China and some countries in the grouping.

“Over the years, through the formulation of the DoC and the efforts to draw up a Code of Conduct (CoC), China and Asean have worked together to maintain peace and stability as well as to uphold freedom and safety of navigation in the South China Sea.

“China is confident and determined to work with Asean to jointly manage the issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, Noppadon said China and Asean had agreed to begin a new phase of consultations on the CoC and work towards its early conclusion.

He added that Thailand would submit a draft possible outline of the CoC for the consideration of the next joint working group, which would meet in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in October.

The meeting yesterday also witnessed the agreement to establish hotline communications between the Asean and Chinese foreign ministries to respond to emergencies at sea.

Malaysia was represented by Wisma Putra secretary-general Datuk Othman Hashim and three other officers in the meeting.

When approached, Othman said the meeting was peaceful and constructive.

“We discussed extensively on what we have achieved so far, and what has to be done for the future.

“We are working together with other Asean members for the implementation of the DoC and the development of the CoC,” he said.

Malaysia, which is the chair of Asean this year, will host a series of meetings, including the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Asean Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting, from Aug 1 to 6.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has confirmed his attendance.

BY THO XIN YI The Star/Asia News Network

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American FBI's China accusation spurred by finance, not a good idea to spy on friends!

On Thursday last week, the FBI released a film entitled The Company Man: Protecting America's Secrets, which targets economic espionage. The 35-minute film features two Chinese economic spies who try to bribe a US employee with money, attempting to acquire insulation technology from the latter's company. The two were later prosecuted and caught in the net of justice. According to media reports, the video has already been shown nearly 1,300 times at US enterprises.

An FBI official publicly voiced that "China is the most dominant threat we face from economic espionage … The Chinese government plays a significant role."

The official also declared that economic espionage has caused losses of hundreds billions of dollars annually to the US economy.

How much is "hundreds of billions of dollars?" Say $300 billion, about 2 percent of US annual GDP.

Since the FBI believes that there has been a 53 percent surge in economic espionage in the US, and 95 percent of US companies suspect that China is the main culprit, does it infer that China has stolen 2 percent of US GDP?

Some people may ponder that given the Cold War is over, Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein were eradicated and the war on terror is seemingly not that urgent for the moment, and in light of US federal budget constraints, the FBI needs to find new strategic reasons for more funds. Therefore, the "position" of "Chinese economic spies" has been greatly elevated.

What the FBI has done is bound to injure Sino-US relations. But it is US society that will suffer the most. Many Americans will hence think that their economy is fine, their companies have no problems at all and the only issue is the threat from Chinese economic espionage.

It looks to them like Chinese intelligence services and civilian business spies are much more powerful than the FBI, CIA and other non-governmental intelligence forces combined. China is not capable in every category except for spy technology. This is the logic of the FBI.

If we take a good look at China's overall development in this changing world, you will see that one-third of global new technical patents are now created by Chinese companies every year. Innovation has also become China's national slogan. China will eventually be able to challenge the West's dominance in high technology.

China is well aware that it should learn from the West, especially the US, in terms of technology. But this is not stealing.

US universities are also attracting students from all over the world, yet this brings more benefits than losses to the nation due to the dissemination of knowledge.

Someone who always claims that his house was robbed and feels free to suspect his friend or neighbor is the thief is very annoying, and that is what the US is doing right now. The whole world knows that US intelligent agencies are the most notorious regarding this issue.

We hope that the often-silent Chinese intelligence services could expose some hard evidence of espionage by US spies, and make a spy movie featuring US espionage, providing it with a mirror to look at itself.- Global Times

Not a good idea to spy on friends

THERE's been so much dramatic news these days – from Greece's miseries to Iran, China from blowhard Donald Trump – that the shocking story of how America's National Security Agency has been spying on German and French leadership has gone almost unnoticed.

Last year, it was revealed that the NSA had intercepted Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone. She is supposed to be one of Washington's most important allies and the key power in Europe. There was quiet outrage in always subservient Germany, but no serious punitive action.

Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, was also bugged by American intelligence. Her predecessor, Luiz Lula da Silva, was also apparently bugged.

This year, came revelations that NSA and perhaps CIA had tapped the phones of France's president, Francois Hollande, and his two predecessors, Nicholas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac. Hollande ate humble pie and could only summon some faint peeps of protest to Washington. Luckily for the US, Charles de Gaulle was not around. After the US tried to strong-arm France, "le Grand Charles" kicked the US and Nato out of France.

Last week, WikiLeaks revealed that the NSA had bugged the phone of Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, for over a decade. Imagine the uproar and cries "the Gestapo is back" if it were revealed that German intelligence had bugged the phones of President Barack Obama or Secretary of State John Kerry.

A lot of Germans were really angry that their nation was being treated by the Americans as a northern banana republic. Many recalled that in the bad old days of East Germany its intelligence agency, Stasi, monitored everyone's communications under the direct supervision of KGB big brother at Moscow Centre.

The National Security Agency and CIA claim their electronic spying is only aimed at thwarting attacks by anti-American groups (aka "terrorism"). This claim, as shown by recent events, is untrue. One supposes the rational must be a twist on the old adage "keep your enemies close, but your friends even closer".

Ironically, the political leaders listed above – save perhaps Brazil's da Silva – are all notably pro-American and responsive to Washington's demands.

Why would the US risk alienating and humiliating some of its closet allies?

One suspects the reason is sheer arrogance … and because US intelligence could do it. But must US intelligence really know what Mr Merkel is making Mrs Merkel for dinner?

Until WikiLeaks blew the whistle, some European leaders may have known they were being spied upon but chose to close their eyes and avoid making an issue. Raising a fuss would have forced them to take action against the mighty US.

Besides, British, Italian and French intelligence are widely believed to have bugged most communications since the 1950's. But not, of course, the White House or Pentagon. The only nation believed to have gotten away with bugging the White House was Israel during the Clinton years. The Pentagon was bugged by a number of foreign nations, including Israel, China and Russia.

Humiliating Europe's leaders in this fashion is a gift to the growing numbers of Europeans who believe their nations are being treated by the US as vassal states.

There is widespread belief in Western Europe that US strategic policy aims at preventing deeper integration of the EU and thwarting a common foreign policy or a powerful European military. Britain serves as a Trojan horse for America's strategic interests in Europe.

Way back in the 1960's, then German defence minister Franz Josef Strauss, an ardent proponent of a truly united Europe, thundered that Europeans would not play spearmen to America's atomic knights. But, of course, that's just what happened.

The US still runs and finances Nato in the same way the Soviet Union commanded the Warsaw Pact. Washington calls on Europe for troop contingents in its Middle East and south Asian colonial wars in the same way that the Persian Empire summoned its vassals to war.

Many Germans and French, both right and left, would like their leaders to react more forcefully to NSA's ham-handed spying. However, Merkel and Hollande are both political jellyfish eager to evade any confrontation with Big Brother in Washington. Maybe he has too much dirt on them.

But a confrontation is inevitable one day if Europe is to regain its true independence that was lost after World War II.

By Eric S. Margolis who is an award-winning, internationally syndicated columnist. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

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