Security Guards Are Back In Prima Villa

Today is the 1st of May 2010, I'm delighted to report that security service has been reinstated in Prima Villa. Thanks to all your support to make this possible!

 AMPS Guards and Operations Officer (Ashari) Photo dated 5 May 2010

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How much is the fee?
The monthly security fee is now RM120 and another extra RM10 to be collected by AMPS on behalf of the committee for utilities (electricity, water at the guard house) and maintenance of barrier/guard house. Payment on quarterly basis at the beginning of the quarter, to AMPS.

2. Who is AMPS?
Asset Management Protection and Services is a professional security service company currently servicing several private and commercial estates in Miri, including Greenville. You can read more at their website http://www.amps.com.my/web/

3. How do my contractors get in?
Register your contractors and their vehicles with AMPS.

4. How do my guests get in when I have a party at my house?
Inform the guard house in advance for easy and quick access for your guests.

5. How to contact the main guard house?
The telephone number for the main guard house is 014 593 8558 (24 hours).

6. Other contact numbers?
AMPS office: 085-654871 (Desa Senadin)
Mobile: 016-2065999 / 014-8799905 (Mr Bong)


I will expand list if I receive more queries....

Refund of PV Security Fee April 2010 Onwards

Message from Michael Tiong, Treasurer / email 29 April 2010

Dear fellow neighbours of Prima Villa,

Greetings. Please be inform the committee has came to the decision to refund the security fee previously collected (for month of Apr 2010 onwards) following the reinstate of security service by new service provider - AMPS. As AMPS will take over the collecting of security fee, neighbours are encouraged to pay direct to AMPS when they come to collect the fees.

We are now in the midst of preparing refund for those who had paid their PV security fee for April 2010 and onwards. Attached herewith the full list in detail for your reference.If any one have paid but your record is not yet listed, please inform us by e-mail (to: treasurer.pv@gmail.com , cc: miclt@pc.jaring.my) with your bank-in slip or fund transfer evidence for us to update the file as soon as possible.

Again, our join name account require all the Three account holder to sign the cheque therefore may take a week or Two, if any one wish to request refund immediately please inform us by e-mail I try make separate arrangement. 

Thank you for your understanding and kind attention.
Best Regards
Michael C. L. Tiong
P. O. Box 1881
98008. Miri, Sarawak,
Malaysia.

The Additional Security Hut

The latest addition in Prima Villa - the additional security hut is now erected, and opening soon ...

The committee wishes to acknowledge Mr. Lim of Lot 5538 for kindly allowing an electrical cable to be pulled from his house to power the lighting at the guard house. 

PV Security Update 25 April 2010

Dear all,

Registration with AMPS
Many thanks to all that have responded to AMPS' notification to register at the Prima Villa which started since yesterday 24 April 2010. It's ongoing today until 8 pm for residents to register their details and to pick up stickers. You will receive one house sticker to be displayed on your gate, one car sticker and one emergency contact numbers sticker for your own reference which will be provided free of charge. Additional car stickers need to be purchased from AMPS at RM5 each.

Payment
Please be informed that ultimately, AMPS will be fully responsible for collecting fees directly from residents. For the time being for those have paid in advance into the PV Committee back account, you will still need to register directly with AMPS. But you may inform AMPS to collect the initial months' fees from the committee. The committee will review your payment status and advise you outstanding dues or refund to you as appropriate. You may contact the Treasurer Michael Tiong (or David Tiong who provides support) if you have any urgent queries.

Additional Guard House
I'm pleased to inform all residents that AMPS has erected another guard house at the back (south west corner) of Prima Villa. On behalf of the residents, the committee wish to acknowledge Mr Ting of Lot 5541 who has generously volunteered to cover the expenses related this additional guard house. Thank you!

AMPS Contact Numbers
Office: 085-654871
Mobile: 013-8255088 (Ashari)
Mobile: 016-2065999 (Mr Bong)
Moblie: 016-8799905 (Mr Bong)

Thanks to all for the great support and we look forward to having AMPS to service Prima Villa.

regards,
Richard

PV Neighhourhood Potluck BBQ

Big thanks to Ahmad "Penn" Mahmud (Lot 142) and Sofian Yusof (Lot 114) who were the masterminds behind this event for organising the venue, the tents, the banner and the all important BBQ pits plus the very yummy lamb and chicken! And of course bravo to all residents for your generous contribution of food and drinks and your attendance to make this 2nd neighhourhood get together yet another great success, on a bright sunny Sunday afternoon! The folks from AMPS were on the ground to explain, discuss and answer queries regarding their impending service at Prima Villa. For those that couldn't make the event on the 18th April, here are some of what you have missed!

The party was in full swing by 4:30pm!

 A great turn-out!

A lot of food!

Penn in action

Residents in action

Charlie in action

Responses to "Another Update on Security"

from "peter.c.k.chia@shell.com"
date Apr 12, 2010 11:32 AM
subject RE: Another Update on Security

Dear PV neighbours,

I have attended the meeting with AMPS as well (together with Richard and others), a couple more points to highlight:

- AMPS tariff is RM120/mth based on 50-100 residential households subscribe their service, if residential houses exceed 100, tariff is RM80/mth (like Greenville, >200 households). By the way, 100% houses at Greenville subscribe to AMPS security service. PV have almost 200 lots of land, but more than half are empty land, in future when reach > 100 households, tariff is cheaper RM80.

- AMPs claimed they employ quality guards with minimum wages of >RM1,000 each per mth (same as in Greenville). Hence they need to cover minimum baseload staff wages for the 5 guards plus their supervisor (partial) and tools (walkie talkies, motorbikes for guards to survey PV areas 1-2 times an hour, etc), hence RM120/mth/household for about 50+ households is realistic.

Thought maybe useful to mention above info, for those who did not have the opportunity to attend last Sat meeting with AMPS.

I fully support the security service.

Regards

Peter Chia

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from Roger Bailey
date Apr 11, 2010 4:57 PM
subject Re: Another Update on Security

Dear Richard,

Firstly, thank you so much. Secondly, this appears to be an excellent piece of work. The proposals from AMPS appear sensible, and the costing is both reasonable and includes a maintenance element and assistance in the collection of fees. First class. I am so sorry I will not be able to be with you all on the 18th, but send my wholehearted support and encouragement in all the hard work of the committee.

The security element is vital both in terms of maintaining property values but also in enhancing and developing our sense of community. Although I was at home in Miri for Chinese New Year I had to return to the UK very quickly, and won't be back until July. When I bought our home in Prima Villa it was not as a financial investment, but a home to retire to. I bought sooner than I had anticipated because of the currency situation, so have to wait before I can come and settle properly. The friendships, kindness, acceptance and assistance of the people of Miri is outstanding.

Good luck in all your endeavours on our behalf,

Roger (5542)

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from "larrie@wehaya.com.my"
date Apr 11, 2010 9:34 PM
subject Re: Another Update on Security

Richard

Thank you for the effort. My apology for unable to join you all for the last meeting with AMP. I have been traveling frequently lately therefore please proceed with all good work. I will support all your proposal.

Thks
Larrie

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from Penn
date Apr 12, 2010 8:23 AM
subject Re: Another Update on Security

all,
FY update the Function Venue for this weekend have been clear & grass cutting yesterday during the gotong royong yesterday. A good turn out...........by me & Sofian....
The Tent/ banner will be erected on Sat.
Feel free to inspect venue accordingly.

lets got rolling, anyway i miss my lighter n kerosene.heheh...

Larrie, TQ for the Tent sponsor........on yr support.

penn.

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from "Matthew.Choo@shell.com"
date Apr 12, 2010 1:36 PM
subject RE: Another Update on Security

Dear PV neighbours,

I am in full support of the security service, and am pushing for the contract to be in place ASAP. Delay should not be tolerated if there are no real show -stopper for the service. This is even more essential as criminal activities have very recently been reported in Pujut and even in Prima Villa itself!

many thanks!

kind regards,
Matthew Choo

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Another Update on Security

Dear residents,

Don't miss the get-together "Potluck BBQ" on the 18 April, Sunday. Come to meet your neighbours, and importantly, come to meet representatives from AMPS with whom we are in discussion to provide security service at Prima Villa.

Many thanks to all that have returned the survey forms. The responses are highly encouraging, and it is worth noting that nearly all responses so far are in agreement to paying in the RM120 range for better and enchanced security service. I will revert shortly with more details on the survey results.

The committee is working on re-establishing security service as soon as possible, and we hope this will happen from 19th April 2010.

For those that have yet to return survey form, kindly do so as soon as possible as we will need all your support to move forward. Please read on for more details on the proposal by AMPS.

Asset Management and Protection Services http://www.amps.com.my/web/ (AMPS) is the company servicing Greenville and a number of other private residential and commercial areas in Miri. Following our enquiry, AMPS have also done a survey of the PV neighhourhood both in day and night time. Some of the key points in AMPS' proposal following two recent discussions:

- 24 hour service with 2 guards on day shift and 3 guards on night shift
- a guard booth will be erected at the back of Prima Villa and to be manned by one of the guards at night
- periodic patrol by guards around the neighbourhood
- random checks / visits by AMPS supervisor on vehicle with spotlights at night around neighhourhood
- guards will be equipped with walkie talkie
- residents will be given stickers on their vehicle for easy access (1 free sticker per subscription, additional stickers may be purchased)
- residents' houses, except those to do not subscribe, will be identified by an AMPS sticker attached on the house
- all visitors entering the neighhourhood are expected to register at the guard house with their driver's license, unless with prior written approval provided by the residents at the guard house (e.g for regular visitors or when holding a function)
- construction contractors and their workers will need to register themselves at the guard house
- guards will respond upon house alarm activation and provide report to owners as appropriate or residents may inform guards to check houses when notified of house alarm activation
- security company will be helping to collect fees, payable on a quarterly basis
- based on tha above, the proposed fee is RM 130 per month, inclusive of RM 10 to go towards a neighhourhood committee fund for general maintanence purposes (utilities for the guard house, grass cutting, etc)

Any views or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

regards,
Richard

Security Matter in Prima Villa and Survey Questionaire

Dear PV residents,

I apologise that this notice is coming out a little late as I was on travel the last few days.

IMPORTANT - please help to fill out the questionnaire attached to this email. We need volunteers to help distribute the questionare and this email in hardcopy, and/or help with translation, please get in touch ASAP.

Security

You will have noticed that the guard house is unmanned since 1 April 2010. The reason is that the committee have suspended the service of KPD Security. We appreciate that residents will be surprised and we deeply regret any anxiety and concerns that may have arisen as a result of this sudden development.

Rest assured that this was not a decision taken lightly and the committee is working towards reinstating the security arrangement as soon as possible.

We have started communication with another company AMPS (who is currently servicing Greenville). The company is prepared to commence their service as soon as we are able to confirm and we believe it is able to provide security service of higher quality.

However, until we are certain of the commitment from sufficient number of residents to ensure there is sufficient funding to financially sustain the payments to the security company, it would not be feasible to engage the service of the new company.

The Treasurer is currently assessing the financial situation and commitment level, hence the questionnaire attached to this email for your attention. We hope to advise details as soon as possible.

Please get in touch with myself or any other committee members if you have any queries regarding the security service and your payment.

Get Together on the 18 April

Thanks to Penn (Lot 142 aka Oasis) and Sofian (Lot 114) who have volunteered to stage our next neighbourhood get together in Prima Villa.

PV Neighbourhood Gathering “Potluck BBQ”
Date: SUNDAY, 18 April 2010.
Time: 4 pm
Location: Empty area in front of Lot 114 (Sofian).

All residents, friends, etc, everybody are invited!

Regards,
Richard Kho
On behalf of the Neighbourhood Committee

Protecting your home and your investment for the long term

To all PV residents,
a number of us (Larrie, Alex, Allex, Fred, Penn, David) and thanks to Alex of lot 28 for coordinating, have convened this afternoon to review the grave bank account situation and on the quality of the security services rendered by KPD. It is fact the quality of service have deteriorated and we are reviewing options and follow-up actions.

Payment
We would like to urge and remind all PV residents to update your payment - up to either June 2010 or prefereably to Dec 2010 - as these will greatly help to minimise the adminstration burden and more importantly to ensure we have sufficient funding to make longer term commitment to security service company.

Payment is RM100 a month. Bank account info, please refer to Michael previous mail or as posted on the PV blogsite here: http://prima-villa.blogspot.com/2009/10/payment-information.html

As highlighted by Michael, the bank account is now in deficit due to a back log of outstanding payments. We appreciate that most of us are busy and you may have overlooked this. The PV neighhourhood requires your full support to sustain its security service.

Quality of security service
The quality of service rendered by KPD has not met expectations set forth by the neighbourhood committee. We will be following up with KPD, but at the same time the commitee are already exploring other options including inquiry to other security service company, and we would welcome your suggestions and ideas you may have.

The security service at PV currently costs about RM 4000 per month, in order to hire 4 guards to establish 2 guards x 12 hour shifts. After adminstration, expenses, EPF, etc, we understand that each of the guards take home approx RM 700 to RM 800 per month. Assuming they get one day off per week, it works out that each guard earns about RM 2.8 per hour - that includes working the weekends and the night shifts! With such salary, it is not difficult to understand why there is such a high turnover of security staff, and I hope this also sheds some light on the challenges of improving security service at PV.

Protecting your home and your investment for the long term
It should be of little doubt by now that PV is well regarded in Miri as one of better neighbourhoods to live. Whether it is actually a safer neighhourhood is quite another matter, but the entrance with the security guards and the barrier probably helps to enhance it's image, or at best, probably help deterred petty crimes.

The fact is that when the security funding runs out, the security service will stop. And after that, it will only be a matter of time that the security house deteriorates, the barriers will be gone and the committee will disperse. If i were a shrewd investor, I know what I'd be doing with my PV property before the neighbourhood loses its "shine".

There are 200 individual plots in neighhourbood, and when fully developed there will be somewhere in the region of 175 bungalow houses (some with multiple plots). Without even knowing how Prima Villa will shape up, most of us made the right decision and took a fair amount of risk to decide to invest in a property here. Right now, PV is already a great place to live but has great potential to be even a better and safer neighbourhood - but it will require all of the PV residents and owners (even though you may not live here yet) to make the right choice now. I hope it is obvious enough that a decision to contribute to the security fund will not only serve to protect your home, but to protect your investment in the longer run.

These last paragraphs are for those that may yet be fully convinced about contributing to the security fund. You decision, and the collective decision of all residents today, can set things in motion to help make PV progressively a better and safer place to live. When the neighhourhood grows, it is hoped that we will be able to grow the fund so that we can tackle other neighbourhood improvement projects such as landscaping etc for the benefits of all residents.

I apology that this is a rather long email, but thanks for reading if you get this far. Views expressed are entirely mine, and if you find errors in my maths or my logic above, I would love to hear from your. Thanks.

For older stuff go to: http://prima-villa.blogspot.com

Kind regards,
Richard Kho

Email from Michael Tiong (Treasurer) dated 10th March 2010

Dear fellow neighbours,

Greetings! I wish to inform that our neighbourhood watch security fund (PVNC account) is having negative balance after the payment of February 2010 security fee to KPD.

This could possibly because some of our fellow neighbours have overlook the payment for the monthly security fee (as some was paying few months in advance). Therefore, on behalf of PVNC committee, I wish to urge and remind our fellow neighbours to check your last submission of security fee, it will be glad if you may submit the overdue amount soon to cover the neighbourhood’s security expenses.

Please take note , the half-yearly advance payment (RM100 X 6 months = RM600) can be accepted. Please bank in to PVNC accounts:

If you have any question or inquiry please contact us.

Thank you for your attention and your prompt action will be appreciated.

Best Regards
Michael C. L. Tiong
P. O. Box 1881
98008. Miri, Sarawak,
Malaysia.