Following a letter from Law and Home Affairs Minister, K. Shanmugam, One Canberra’s appointed managing agent moved the venue of its first AGM to cut costs (Image: Minister K Shanmugam’s official Facebook page).
Realty International Associates (RIA), the appointed managing agent of One Canberra executive condominium, has postponed its first annual general meeting (AGM) to 24 June so that it can be held at Chong Pang Community Club instead of a country club, reported The Straits Times.
The move followed calls from residents and community leaders to slash unnecessary cost and a letter from Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam reminding them to ensure that “the residents’ money is properly spent”.
In a Facebook post, Nee Soon GRC MP Shanmugam said the managing agent and developer had planned to spend S$19,000 for a ballroom.
Booking a multi-purpose hall at a community centre, on the other hand, usually costs around S$1,500 on average, revealed the People’s Association.
“The venue was not as shocking as it was concerning, because it’s not the managing agent’s money – it’s our money, at the end of the day,” said a 38-year old resident who works in the real estate industry.
Meanwhile, Jackson Ong, senior vice-president of RIA said they are “most happy” to hold the AGM at the CC. “We value Mr Shanmugam’s feedback.”
He noted that while RIA decided to hold the meeting at Orchid Country Club for around S$15,600, MCC Land (Singapore), the developer of One Canberra, has agreed to take up S$8,000 of the cost.
With the new venue, the cost of the meeting, which will see the election of a management council of residents, now stands at about S$8,000. The figure includes cost for food, logistics and cleaning fees.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
