Malaysian property developers were honoured at the 26th Fiabci Malaysia Property Award 2018 gala event at One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya, on Nov 17. The awards were presented by guest of honour Tunku Besar Seri Menanti Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz of Negeri Sembilan. Fiabci World president Assen Makedonov of Bulgaria was also present at the event, attended by 1,200 people.

Newly-elected Fiabci Malaysia president Michael Geh, in his welcome address, said, “The Malaysia Property Award is the hallmark of excellence that any developer worth their salt would aspire to as it embodies the highest accolades and standards of professionalism in the property and real estate industry.”

He added that he would like to see more entries in the Affordable Housing category to challenge the ingenuity of developers on how to innovate and meet the expectations of homebuyers.

Geh urged smaller developers not to be deterred from taking part. “What matters is the overall quality of the projects. You do not need to have a strong or robust company profile. All you need is a good project that you think can qualify to win the award.”

Makedonov, in his speech, said the level of excellence attained by Malaysian developers has shone brightly, even on the international stage.

“This level of prestige is due, in part, to this chapter’s continuous effort to maintain the highest standard of judging. This includes your multi-tiered evaluation process. Such high standards reflect the excellence and reputation of the award. And, the good news is, all this great effort pays off,” he said.

“As many of you here tonight know, Malaysian developers took home six Gold Awards at the 2018 Fiabci Prix d’Excellence Awards ceremony in Dubai last May. This was the most awards won by any country … further demonstrating that the Malaysia Property Award is a best-practice model for the rest of the world.

Two personality and seven category awards were presented at the event. The Property Man award for 2018 went to Tan Sri Lim Hock San, managing director of LBS Bina Group, while the Property CEO award was given to Datuk Matthew Tee Kai Woon, executive director of Bina Puri Holdings Group.

The seven category winners are Caffe [email protected] Cina by Encomas Sdn Bhd for Heritage Restoration/Conservation; [email protected] by AME Development Sdn Bhd for Industrial; Desa ParkCity by Perdana ParkCity Sdn Bhd for Master Plan; Bangunan Ibu Pejabat PKNS by Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) for Office; Setia SPICE by S P Setia Bhd for Purpose Built; The Greens by Bellworth Developments Sdn Bhd for Residential Highrise; and Sunway Velocity Mall by Sunway Velocity Mall Sdn Bhd for Retail.