The Tanjong Malim MP urged the housing and local government ministry (KPKT) to review its SOPs and the decision to close strata management offices, even to residents.

He said if the property and facility management sector remained closed, residents would not be able to benefit from the services of their respective strata management offices throughout the lockdown period.

“More than six million Malaysians live in apartments and condominiums, and under the strata scheme, management offices are responsible for providing management and maintenance services to residential properties.

“The management sector should be considered an essential service – it is essential for six million people, particularly as many are working from home right now,” he said in a statement today.

However, the Malaysian Institute of Property & Facility Managers (MIPFM) clarified that the sector operated as usual but was only closed to residents and visitors.

“Management offices can operate on-site but are closed to the public, in accordance with the SOPs issued by KPKT.

“Based on a survey with our members, all strata management offices are operating as usual. I have not found any property management company which isn’t operating and has closed its office,” MIPFM president Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin told FMT.

Adzman said he was unsure why the property and facility management sector had been overlooked when the government gazetted the list of essential services in early 2020 under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020.

“Despite repeated reminders during public engagement and official memorandums to Miti (international trade and industry ministry) and MKN (National Security Council), this sector is still not recognised by the government as an essential service.

“We are, however, grateful to KPKT for being proactive in quickly providing specific SOPs for this sector.”