"PJ Palms Might Be Gone Forever" — Community Pool Management Begs MBPJ To Renew Its Lease
The general manager of PJ Palms Sports Centre claims the city council has not responded to their communications.
PJ Palms Sports Centre, under the management of Sepang Mekar Sdn Bhd for the past 13 years, is appealing to the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) for an extension of their tenancy
Yeap Eu Juan, the general manager of PJ Palms Sports Centre and founder of Swimin12, took to Facebook with a heartfelt plea urging MBPJ to allow them to renew their lease.
He has also started a petition to seek public support.
Having transformed the sports centre into a thriving community hub since its inception, Yeap expressed concern that "PJ Palms Sports Centre might be gone forever".
According to Yeap, Sepang Mekar Sdn Bhd secured a contract from MBPJ to construct the community sports centre in May 2010, fostering strong ties with local businesses and freelance coaches in the area over the past decade.
"The long-term lease was for 12 years with a guaranteed term to renew as long as there was no breach of contract," he said.
However, despite their efforts since 2019, Yeap claims the city council has ignored all attempts to renew the lease.
Image via PJ Palms Sports Centre
Yeap said he started the petition and held a townhall after hearing rumours that MBPJ signed a new tender with another contractor
"We were not informed of this by anyone from MBPJ. We asked MBPJ what was going on after receiving this news, but there was no reply from MBPJ to our correspondences," he wrote.
He added that, as a company, they have invested a lot of money, time, and effort into building and renovating PJ Palms Sports Centre into the facility it is known today.
"We have been very good paymasters paying our rent to MBPJ without any default," he said.
Yeap hopes that the city council would engage in discussions to renew their contract instead of offering the sports centre to a new proprietor.
"We are willing to pay a higher rent and explore any other reasonable requirements by MBPJ to upgrade the facilities and align with the council's vision," he said.
Image via Yeap Eu Juan (Facebook)
In a statement today, 17 July, MBPJ did not directly address Yeap's concerns but reassured the public that the swimming pool and its amenities would remain operational
"PJ Palms is a property owned by MBPJ. MBPJ leased the property to the main contractor, Sepang Mekar Sdn Bhd, which sublet it to other tenants, such as shops, restaurants, and a swim school.
"Although the main contractor's agreement has expired, the property will remain as is. A tender process has been initiated to appoint a new operator," it clarified.
"The swimming pool will be maintained and any information about its closure is untrue and deeply regretted," it added.
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