September 2020

Dear Owners and Residents of Bukit Gita Bayu (GB),

Hope you and your families are keeping well and staying safe !

Our last communication with you from GBRA Committee was in March when we shared the minutes of the AGM. Soon after that, we entered into an unprecedented pandemic situation and lockdown for few months. Things only started to ease recently. GBRA Committee has managed to convene our first Committee Meeting last month and we have also we also invited Mr.Edwin Gomes from GBPS for a brief dialogue.

You would have heard some of the latest news like the new restaurant at Dining Pavilion and new children’s playground and BBQ area.

There are other highlights which are worthwhile to keep you informed, hence the purpose of this update.

A. The proposed new clause in GBRA Constitution which was passed in AGM had been approved by ROS.  The amendment states that any Committee member of GBRA must not have 3 months (90 days) or more in outstanding arrears in service charge payments, and/or have an ongoing legal action in relation to and contesting the arrears. A complete copy of the latest Constitution (in Bahasa) is available at the Constitutions page.

B. Budget for 2021 is being prepared by GBPS. Mr. Edwin Gomes and Mr. Danny Ting will present it to the GBRA Committee for comments and necessary changes in our next meeting this October.

We already have representatives as members of GBRA from all the various developments including GBOA, the chairperson of HV, GV, TV central Committee.

In the spirit of inclusiveness, we have also invited Ms. Shirley Teo (Chairperson of HV2), Mr. Ong Cheng Hwa (Chairperson of GBOA), and Ms. Christine Thoo (newly elected chairperson of GV) to join this budget discussion so that every community within GB has representation and a say in the budget for the coming year 2021.

C. Tree Cutting/Pruning/Replacement

Some of the residents have expressed concern about the manner in which trees are pruned as well as apparent damage caused to the trees and surrounding landscape during each pruning exercise. There is also a noticeable lack of supervision by GBPS at the time.

In response to this, a preliminary meeting was held recently with Mr. Danny Ting, led by the GBRA landscape subcommittee Mr. Francis Tian, Ms. Lalitha and Puan Mazita.

A follow-up meeting has been arranged on 29th September with Mr. Danny Ting and will on this occasion, include Mr. Edwin Gomes and the Arborist engaged by GBPS.

The purpose of this meeting is to properly assess the remaining trees and to produce a holistic plan for the management of trees in GB for the remainder of 2020. We will also produce a plan and budget for tree management for 2021. The meeting will also lay a long-term roadmap to preserve the beautiful and unique landscape of GB.

GBRA Committee will provide update to GB residents following this meeting.

D. GBPS has started to use the quieter electric powered leaf blowers in some areas but the noisy motor powered leaf blowers will continue for now. This is because the electric unit can only last up to few hours per charge so it is not practical to operate in such a large area like GB. GBPS has also deployed manual sweepers but in some areas only due to labour cost consideration. Mr. Danny is looking at other better ways to address this problem.

E. Concern of mosquito breeding grounds and the population seems to be growing bigger. According to Mr. Danny Ting the pest control company rotates between 4 different fogging chemical sanctioned by the Ministry of Health for its effectiveness in eradicating the mosquitos. The GBRA have highlighted to Mr. Danny Ting that fogging alone is not enough to control the mosquito problem and he will have to come up with a systematic plan to identify and eradicate mosquito breeding sites.

F. In an effort to further reduce electricity consumption and save costs (after replacing the street lights to energy efficient LED lights), GBPS is looking at installing “smart sensor” to control the street lights. Further info will be provided in future update.

G. In view of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation and uncertainty of the situation in the near future, it will not be feasible to organize any social event at this time. So GBRA Committee has decided not to plan any social events in 2020 until at least early 2021.

It is important that all the residents within GB are able to highlight areas of concern and feel they have a say and representation over all aspects of living within GB including issues of service, maintenance and security.

Every development has representation within GBRA through their members of the various MC’s. Please refer to Committee page to find out the names of the different GBRA representatives of all the various developments within GB.

We will also invite the various chairpersons of the MC’s who are not current members of GBRA to our future meetings.

Please don’t hesitate to contact any of the GBRA Committee Members or email to gitabayura@hotmail.com if you have any question or comment.

From The Secretary, on behalf of 2020/21 GBRA Committee