11/03/2025
🚨 Property Owners & JMBs in Panic Over PDRM’s Announcement – Time for Clear Guidelines, Not More Burden! 🚨
The recent announcement that landlords, Joint Management Bodies (JMBs), and security firms may be held accountable for crimes committed by tenants has caused widespread concern across the property management and real estate industry. While crime prevention is crucial, the approach must be fair and practical—not simply shifting the burden onto non-profit JMBs, property owners, and undertrained security guards.
🔴 The Harsh Reality of Strata & Property Management
JMBs and Management Corporations (MCs) are not enforcement agencies—they are volunteer-run, non-profit organizations struggling with:
✅ Rising maintenance costs – The minimum wage hike and upcoming EPF contribution for foreign workers are significantly increasing security, cleaning, and maintenance expenses.
✅ Short-term security contracts – Security firms typically operate on one-year contracts, leading to high turnover and a lack of continuity, making long-term security planning nearly impossible.
✅ Undertrained security personnel – Security guards are not trained to profile criminals or conduct surveillance on tenants. Their role is limited to access control, not investigating suspicious activities.
✅ Lack of legal authority – JMBs and property managers do not have the power to conduct background checks, interrogate tenants, or investigate financial transactions.
🔴 Real Estate Agents Must Play a Bigger Role in Tenant Screening (KYC)
Instead of forcing JMBs and landlords to take on law enforcement responsibilities, the real estate industry must be part of the solution by enforcing proper KYC (Know Your Customer) screening at the rental transaction stage:
🏠 Real estate agents should conduct proper identity verification before handing over keys.
🏠 Tenant vetting should include employment verification, rental history, and financial background checks.
🏠 Blacklist databases should be introduced to prevent repeat offenders from moving from one property to another.
🏠 Rental agreements should require proof of screening, similar to how banks verify customers before opening accounts.
🔴 TNB, Telco, & E-Hailing Platforms Must Be Part of the Solution
If authorities want effective crime prevention, enforcement must extend beyond property owners and JMBs to include utility providers, telcos, and digital platforms, which often have better insights into potential criminal activities than landlords ever could.
📌 TNB (Electricity Provider)
⚡ Scammer centers, illegal gambling dens, and cybercrime syndicates require continuous electricity supply to operate.
⚡ Many illegal operations run 24/7 to support different time zones, leading to unusually high electricity consumption.
⚡ TNB should be required to flag properties with excessive, round-the-clock power usage and alert authorities.
📌 Telecommunication Providers (Telcos)
📡 Online scams, cyber fraud, and cryptocurrency mining require high data consumption and multiple internet connections.
📡 Tenants involved in illicit activities often subscribe to multiple high-speed broadband lines or mobile data plans.
📡 Telcos should be responsible for monitoring abnormal internet usage trends and reporting unusual patterns to law enforcement.
📌 E-Hailing & Delivery Platforms (Grab, Foodpanda, etc.)
🍔 Criminals and scammers rarely leave their premises but frequently order large quantities of food deliveries at odd hours.
🚗 Fraud syndicates that operate internationally often place food and grocery orders in bulk to sustain workers confined indoors.
📦 Frequent, high-volume orders from a single address should raise red flags for e-hailing companies, prompting investigations.
Instead of forcing non-profit JMBs and individual landlords to take the fall, these corporations should be held accountable for monitoring and reporting suspicious activities, just as financial institutions are required to detect money laundering.
🔴 A Structured, Industry-Wide Approach is Needed
Instead of pushing enforcement to JMBs, landlords, and underpaid security guards, PDRM and policymakers must implement a nationwide system—similar to how Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) enforces anti-money laundering (AML) in the banking sector.
✔️ Mandatory KYC screening for tenants enforced at the real estate transaction stage.
✔️ Real estate agents to verify employment, rental history, and identity before handing over keys.
✔️ Utility providers (TNB), telcos, & e-hailing platforms should be legally required to monitor and report unusual activity.
✔️ A national database for blacklisted tenants should be accessible to landlords and property managers.
✔️ A centralized digital reporting platform should allow JMBs & landlords to flag suspicious activities without legal risk.
🔴 Crime Prevention is a Shared Responsibility, Not Just a JMB Burden
🚨 JMBs and landlords are not law enforcement agencies—they already struggle with financial burdens and rising costs.
🚨 Security guards are NOT trained to profile criminals—they manage entry points, not monitor resident activities.
🚨 Real estate agents must conduct proper KYC screening before finalizing tenancy agreements.
🚨 Authorities should regulate telcos, utility providers & digital service platforms to detect and report abnormal behavior.
🔴 Let’s Push for Policy, Not Panic!
Crime prevention in strata properties should be a coordinated effort involving JMBs, property managers, landlords, real estate agents, PDRM, telcos, utility companies, and digital service platforms. Without a structured framework, this move will only create fear, increase costs, and further burden strata management teams.
🔁 What do you think? Should TNB, telcos, and e-hailing platforms be responsible for flagging suspicious activity instead of shifting the blame onto property owners? Let’s discuss! ⬇️
