THE proprietors of Joe’s Unisex Salon and Waikiki Bar are being harassed by the building’s main tenant to sign a new tenancy agreement or leave the premises.
Salon owner M. Inthirasa (better known as Barber Joe) and bar proprietor Tony Siew whose outlets are in the former Kelab Syabas, now known as PJ Palms Sports Centre, said there appeared to be a force in asking them to sign the tenancy agreement and a testament to this was the intermittent disruption of power supply at their premises over the past three months.
“Sepang Mekar Sdn Bhd, the building’s main tenant, has been forcing us to sign a new tenancy agreement. This means we have to pay higher rent,” said Siew, who has signed the new agreement but yet to pay the deposit.
Joe said he had yet to sign the contract, as under the new agreement he would have to pay four times more than his rent now.
Crying foul: Edward (right) speaking at a press conference to highlight the dispute between Joe’s Unisex Salon and Waikiki Bar with Sepang Mekar, the main tenant of PJ Palms Sports Centre. With him are Tony (centre) and Joe (second from right).“Under the new agreement, I will have to pay a monthly rental of RM1,700, as opposed to the current RM500 per month,” said the 61-year-old who has been operating his business for two decades.
“I have had no problems with the previous management, Bina Syabas, who managed the building for 18 years until their contract ended. The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) ran the place until Sepang Mekar won the contract last year.”
Siew, whose has been opearting his business for 15 years, said under the new agreement, the rent for his premises soared to RM18,900 from the present RM5,000.
“I had to lodge a police report last Thursday when my premises was padlocked without my knowledge. I had to reconnect the electricity supply on my own when it was cut off as I needed it restored to run my business,” he said.
Joe and Siew also complained about their inflated electricity bills, which they said were above Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s (TNB) commercial rates.
Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee said managed to get a copy of the agreement, which was signed between the MBPJ and Sepang Mekar, who are the landlord and main tenant respectively.
“The total area of Kelab Syabas is 136,500sq ft (12,681sq m), including the shops and swimming pool,” said Lee.
“Sepang Mekar is paying the MBPJ a monthly rental RM15,000 for the entire club, which after a quick calculation means that they are paying 11 sen per sq ft.
“However, Sepang Mekar is charging sub-tenants like Waikiki Bar and Joe’s Salon RM4.50 per sq ft, while the other sub-tenants are charged RM5.20 per sq ft.
“It appears that the main tenant is buying time (by cutting off the electricity) to force the sub-tenants to sign the new agreement.”
Lee said he met PJ mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman two months ago and he promised to look into the matter.
“Roslan later acknowledged that something was not right, but that the agreement had to be complied with as the councillors had already agreed to it,” he said.
“When nothing happened at the council level, I brought the matter up to the state government.
“Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has requested for the matter to be tabled at the MTES (Selangor Economic Action Council).”
Lee said the issue was now with the state government and he hoped that the MTES would discuss the matter this week.
When contacted, Sepang Mekar managing director David Solomon expressed his disappointment and frustration, saying that both Waikiki Bar and Joe’s Salon had been difficult to sort out.
“We are not here to evict anybody. The agreement is still under negotiation with Joe’s Salon. Waikiki Bar has signed the agreement but have not honoured it,” he said.
“These two businesses have not paid their rental since March 2011. Their utility bills have not been paid on time either.
“The other 10 sub-tenants at the centre have been cooperative and paying their dues regularly.”
Even with the new agreement, Solomon said Joe’s Salon and Waikiki Bar would be paying lower than the average rental rate.
“The average rental for a basic commercial premises in PJ is RM6 per sq ft,” he said.
“We want to help these two businesses and tried hard to work with them and the MBPJ. We have a number of upgrades planned if they had come to an agreement on the tenancy details.”
Solomon said Sepang Mekar signed the agreement with MBPJ in May 2010, but only received access to the building in August 2010.
“We began refurbishment work in September 2010, and the new pool was completed within six months for its re-opening in March 2011,” he said.
“The delays have put a damper on the official launch of PJ Palms Sports Centre’s new look.
“The initial stage of its re-opening was scheduled for July 2011, with the new look to be fully unveiled by the end of this year.”
Solomon clarified that Sepang Mekar is the main tenant and was given the agreement to upgrade and refurbish the centre, while PJ Palms Sdn Bhd is the management company assigned by Sepang Mekar to manage and run the premises.
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