IOI MALL NEW WING

Went to check out IOI Mall new wing recently, and it does look more upmarket than the old wing. Some of the newer tenants have opened their doors for business like Friday's, Bossini, Padini Concept Store, FOS, Brands Outlet, ADIDAS, Crocs, and my new favourite place to get my plastic containers; DAISO. I think this shop will be very popular esp for those who like home organization cos all their stuff are imported from Japan (but made in China I'm sure) and selling for RM5 each item. Havent been to Daiso in Mutiara Damansara but the one at IOI Mall New Wing is quite well stocked; utensils, cosmetics, bags, containers, stationery, knick-knacks, tablewares, etc etc etc.....go check it out. Below are some pics:

Daiso outlet at IOI Mall New Wing

I went there early evening on a weekday and there were like 5-8 person queueing to pay at the cashier at any one time. Guess malaysians really cannot resist bargains (yes i bought some too:P)

With the completion of the IOI Mall new wing and also soon-to-be-completed IOI Boulevard, the Financial Commercial Centre (PFCC) at Bdr Puteri, Setiawalk, etc, this part of puchong is fast transforming into a modern and vibrant township. Which translate to better real estate value for us since Avilla Apartment is so near to it.

Salute our Avillian Guards.

Hi, this is my 1st blogging. wants to share my views. my apology if anyone read this and find it offending.
Last week, i witness 2 incidents happening at Avilla, a happy and a sad one and prompt me to write to all.
It all happens at Block B. 1st the happy one, on saturday around 3 pm, a guard came and press the door bell of my sister apartment.She opens the door and saw one indian guard asking if her car no was so and so and she said yes. He told her some one hit her car. We both went down immediately and saw another indian guard standing with a couple at the guard house.He told us the driver have accidentally knock into my sister car while reversing her car. We then ask if she was a resident here and she said that she is visting her friends at Avilla at Block B. They admitted their mistake and prepare to pay for the repainting job. They came to our apartment and pay us the money after my sister have check with the mechanic the cost also apologise profusely. Very civic minded and considerate visitors. Good job the guard went through their address registration book and find out the car owner and informed the accident. Our million thanks to the AVILLA GUARDS. To their employer, please give them a good review.

2nd was a very sad one. It happened on Sunday at 7.16am. My youngest sis and family came to visit me that day. We went out for dinner. It was drizzling. she went down the lift first and waited at the lobby for her husband to get the car from the visitor car park. i came down with my family a few mins later. When i came out, i witnessed a man getting into his car and driving off in a very angry manner. i saw a Malay guard pulling a car clamping machine with his clothes wet under the drizzling rain. He was mumbling to himself and being curious i ask him what happen. He told me that the man park his car beside the lobby entrance for a long time. His car was then clamped. The man came down hours later and ask him to open up the clamp. Instead of saying sorry and paying the RM50.00 fine, he start scolding the guard harsely. Mys sis who stands there witness the whole incident but dare not speak up cos she fears the man will scold her for being a buzy body. The guard says that now he has to pay for the RM50.00 cos the man refuse to pay.Since my sis and i witness the incident and the guard was not paid the RM50.00, will the management or his employer, kindly please do not deduct his pay. I really pity all these guards. Rain or shine, they are still peforming their duties.Not only that, some very unkind and brainless ppl will yell and bully them when they are doing their duties. May this man who read this please put yourself in his shoe. Will you want ppl to treat you, your brother, your father, your son in this manner! If you have made a mistake, admit it and don't let others pay for you. Even if they are guards, they are still human beings like you and me. I did not check with the guard if he is a resident here or just a visitor. I don't think he is a resident or he should be aware of the rules.To all Avillians out there, let me tell you. My vote for the avilla guards are VERY GOOD and they are an excellent lot !

Suffering from Monday Blues? Enter here...

Gooood Morningggggg Avillians,

If you are still recovering from the nice and lazy weekend, I have got here a vid from my friend that would liven up your day. Enjoy...

:))

THE PLAYERS

BLOCK A 

1. aerill 1F A 3A 
2. Zoul 1F A 1 
3. kz 1F B 3 
4. DYYY 1F B 
5. jajabink 2F 
6. xinguan82 2F A 3 
7. o0ocitizeno0o 2F A 
8. CCM 2F B 2 
9. cjzone81 3F A 
10. bala063A 6F A 
11. z_effect 8F A 
12. nicolewwk 8F A 
13. susean 8F B 
14. Vijanth 9F A 1 
15. Bulldoggie 9F A 8 
16. Mohan_717 10F A 
17. Y2 11F 
18. kelvinkang 11F A 
19. Chrystal 12F A 
20. AA63 12F A 
21. phantasynthesis 12F 
22. sasa 13F 
23. sasa friend 15F 
24. Tony 15F 3A

BLOCK B 

1. soomee alias 1F B 
2. karilaksa 1F B 
3. huMII 1F A 8 
4. Ah Chua 2F A 
5. Katherine 3F A 
6. shad 3F 
7. clm1980 3AF A 
8. clm1980 sister 3AF B 
9. IT23 3AF B 
10. Avilla899 3AF 
11. chewhuia 3AF B 3 
12. Tomyam_panas 5F B 3 
13. nisajkn 7F 
14. kelapa_sawit 7F B 
15. allwin 8F B 
16. steven yap 9F A 
17. avilla 9F A 
18.jasonIBM 9F B 
20. tooki 10F 
21. chupz 11F 
22. 7146 11F 
23. hosang 12F B 8 
24. babytroll 11F 
25. tmh123 12F 

26. leooi 13A
27. IT23 15F A 8

The above list should continuously be updated indicating new resident members and so on. 

At least now, we are a little bit better in getting ourselves shielded from unwanted prying eyes of outsiders.

Of course, we will find a solution to enable restricted access only to residence or signed in Guests in the near future. Your Patience will be rewarded.

WHAT IS OUT FROM YOUR POCKET NOW

Dear RESIDENTS, 

From our recent discussion on Friday (13/03/2009), the below are some of the costs that you should know (kudos to Mohan for his effort in liaising with IOI). In case, if you want to veto the below and propose for new service providers, be our guest. However, do pls include you justifications for doing so: 

1) Security guards agency: 
RM3.80/person X 12 hours X 8 person X 30 days 
= approx RM 10,944/MONTH 

2)Landscaping service - Grass cutting once a month, soil loosening, weeding, clearing dead tree, watering and fertilising 
=RM1,200/MONTH 

3)Cleaning services 
=RM3,800/MONTH 

4)Pest control 
=RM250/MONTH 

5)Swimming Pool maintenance 
=RM900/MONTH 

6)Garbage Disposal
=RM900/MONTH 

Aggregating all the above together would put us to an ESTIMATED figure of RM17,994 being KNOWN costs. Bear in mind that we need to be prudent in spending our funds as there would be a few other anticipated significant costs that may or may not erode our current standing of our funds balance. Tentatively, there is no full disclosure to us yet of our AA's accounts until or unless the Joint Management Body(JMB) is established. Also, all service providers above have been contracted with AA for a year being most of them satisfying the contract in either June or July 2009. Subsequent to this period, all service provider contracts will be based on a MONTHly basis. This statement will need further research whether any flexibilities are allowed in prolonging the service period of each service provider's contract term as monthly contractual term would prove to be uneconomical to both money and time spent unless otherwise can be justified. 

BASIC NECESSITY OF AN APARTMENT - SECURITY

Dear ALL, 

Let us now brainstorm on the most priority issue at hand - SECURITY. 

First, we need to look at a few areas before we start to decide which and what kind of security that suits our needs and the residence perimeters best. In our modern 21st century world today, there is no doubt that the high tech and advance components of camera and satellite surveillance have deterred many crime spates in the world. However, in certain situations, more conservative approaches are required as well in certain situations that require our physical security guards to do their rounds in the perimeters or in the walkways/stair wells particularly in the apartment concept residence. So, in my opinion, the pros and cons of each alternatives below needs presented in the meetings and evaluated before a final decision is reached on which to choose from. Of course, there is always no such thing as a perfect tool that oversees everything considering that both CCTV and security guards industry thrive in Malaysia and everywhere in the world: 

1) Security Guards (4 persons in a day shift/4 persons in a night shift) - existing approach 
Correct me if I am wrong, but there SHOULD be ONE guard EACH sitting in the lobbies of block A and block B; and TWO guards in the guard house IF ONE of them is not patrolling or doing his rounds of time clocking. 
COST: approx MYR 11,520 (RM4.8/person X 10 hrs X 8 X 30 days) 
PROS: the guards make their rounds from each of the clocking points set in the apartment being a preventive measure against prospective break in. Security from the external environment such as control of outsiders movements from the main entry/exit point is high. The solution of internal conflicts between residents is medium (assuming there is no need of police being called in). 
CONS: That the above PROS are being professionally executed. e.g: the guards make their clocking rounds, and not just literally walking to the clock's destination and back to the his original task (guard house/lobby). The person needs to reasonably carry out patrolling duties in each floor after making his clocking point on the 14th floor. Residents' feedback is important here to ensure that the security guards are carrying out their Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) professionally. The need of walkie talkie to be appropriately utilised. 

2) Additional physical security system in the lobby (proposal) 
- a security barrier/wall/gate to be implemented in both lobbies of block A & block B. 
- card system 
COST: MEDIUM (in the region of RM 10k to RM30k) - 1 off payment 
PROS: Undoubtedly strengthen our defences against unwanted trespassers or burglars. The proposal to allocate the existing guard at the lobby to monitor the entry/exit point of the barrier will definitely prove this additional barrier's worth. 
CONS: Options either only 1 card to be assigned to the guard at the additional entry/exit point or multiple cards to be assigned to each residence needs to be carefully assessed. Personally, quantitative wise, the latter would prove to be a strain on the funds balance in consideration of many factors such as costs in relation to number of cards to be issued/lost cards, costs related to the installations of the unique locator assigned to each resident's unit, and etc. 

3) Additional physical security system adjacent to guard house (proposal) 
- the small cleavage footpath whereby RESIDENTS/visitors on foot regularly passes through both exit and entry points will need to go through gates that are to be installed. 
- all residents will need to be issued a resident card (with photograph) 
COSTS: LOW 
PROS: another proposal to strengthen security defence and to discourage uninvited guests into AA. 
CONS: At peak period, ONE guard would prove to be a challenge attending all these issues such as issuing visitor cards and collecting visitor cards from both entry / exit points (assuming the other is on patrol duties). The entry log book of visitors needs to be strictly monitored. 

4) CCTV (recorded) 
- installation of CCTVs in recommended areas proposed by CCTV consultants. 
- can be combined with option #1 thereby proposing to reduce the number of guards 
COST: MEDIUM - HIGH (depending on how many units installed plus the main equipment themselves) - one off payment 
PROS: Undoubtedly a wise crime prevention option nowadays as long as the CCTVs are placed in the "RIGHT" areas. 
CONS: May encourage ineffectiveness of security guards in carrying out their duties. Also, it could be classified as a reactive measure in combating burglary as the frames are recorded if any burglars are able to made through the screening by the security guards. Additionally, take consideration of possibilities of insider jobs? 

5) CCTV (live) 
- installation of CCTVs in recommended areas proposed by CCTV consultants. 
- can be combined with option #1 thereby proposing to reduce the number of guards 
- surveillance established by external consultants 
- authorised residents/personnel/security guards are able to access into internet for live monitor of CCTVs. 
COST: HIGH (depending on how many units installed plus the main equipment themselves) - one off payment and monthly maintenance cost of surveillance by security agencies. 
PROS: Undoubtedly a wise crime prevention option nowadays as long as the CCTVs are placed in the "RIGHT" areas. Preventive measure in combating burglars. All actions and movements will be monitored indiscreetly. 
CONS: May encourage ineffectiveness of security guards in carrying out their duties. Ever think of privacy? Real pricey. 

The magnitude we place our financial categories based on our assumptions are: 

LOW: below RM 10,000 
MEDIUM: in the region of RM 10,001 to RM 30,000 
HIGH: RM 30,001 and above 

The categories are based on the facts and figures we are informed through the recent AGM. 

And finally don't forget that all the above will need to go through our hard earned savings in the maintenance fees account. But there is a saying, you win some and you lose some, but if you lose some for a greater cause, why not?

SECURITY GUARD SERVICE BRIEFING SESSION (20/03/2009)

Good morning Avillians, 

The committee members on that day had participated in a very colourful briefing session by the security guards sevices manager. Attended were most of the security guards for the day and night shift together with the replacement guards. 

The session took longer than the anticipated period as it became interesting at the later part of the session particularly during the Q&A sessions. Of course, the commiitte members agree with the manager that this would not be the last exercise and proposed in the near future, that sessions to be held regularly eg 1 in two months to follow up on feedbacks or any further requirements that would be required to enhance the security system in AA. 

The ultimate objective was to achieve a dual communication and interaction between the residents and the guards. The 1st half session was a situational interview posed by the manager to all the guards with some feedbacks interaction from the committee members. The later half was consist mostly feedbacks highlighted by the guards themselves in regards to the issues/challenges/obstacles faced by themselves. 

In most situations, we believe that most guards are carrying out their duty reasonably up to the 'standard' expectations in comparison to any security guards companies out there. We believe that in certain circumstances, we have to put ourselves in their shoes knowing what are the hurdles that may have befallen them in performing their task professionally. Many factors that should be considered would be the adequacy of knowledge of their responsibilites, any provision of development and training, adequacy of security personnel and so on. 

What interests us most which are occuring rampantly everywhere in the securities industry is that the security guards have been most of the time belittled, harshly scoffed and cursed at from performing their tasks as instructed by their superiors and in accordance to the Standard Operating Procedures. Yes, we definitely would agree occassionally that there will always be a rotten apple(s) in the basket that could jeopardise the whole purpose of having security guards in the compound. But, the question to ask is, are we living in the perfect world? Nobody is perfect, and therefore the need to generalise should be further avoided as when unwanted incidents happen, everyone would be quick to point heir fingers and victimise the unfortunate ones. In the briefing, most of the security guards understand that the main principle in running their job effectively is to provide reasonable security services to their "owners" aka residents and that whatever the condition is if any disputes is to arise, they must not verbally nor worse, physically abuse their owners. If the security guards who are actually providing a reasaonable service to safeguard our lives and assets with a mere basic salary can lower their pride while being scoffed at by certain owners, what more can we asked? In such situations, we would suggest that if any owner who is in the wrong yet insistingly complained that the guards are disrespectful of him/her, to consider again the humility values that he/she perceives. And therefore if you want respect, you will have to earn it... 

Finally, as mentioned in our previous comments, there is no such tools or sevices in the security sevices industry that can provide a perfect security system protecting us from any agent(s) who have ill intentions against the residents in the compound. There are may alternatives out there that allow us to minimise potential risks of burglary and physical harm and in order to make that happen, the cooperation of all the Avillians would be ultimately required.

HOW TO BE AN AUTHOR IN THIS BLOG

I think for the site to be truly interactive, all residents should be able to post their blog entries.

HOW TO BE AN AUTHOR OF THIS BLOG

1. Send your email to avillapch@gmail.com. State your name and unit number.

2. You will receive an invitation to be an author of Avilla Blog in your email later.

3. Follow the instructions in the invitation email and sign in with your gmail account (getting a gmail account is very easy and fast. It is similar to yahoo mail/hotmail).

4. Set your profile name (display name) to be seen in the blog; e.g. AVB0X3A, YSWONG, LINGAM123, CIK SABARIAH, BEN A-XX-2 & etc.

5. Start blogging. We look forward to your posting.


RULES FOR POSTING BLOG ENTRIES

1. Please set your Display Name; e.g. AVB0X3A, YSWONG, LINGAM123, CIK SABARIAH, BEN A-XX-2 & etc.

2. No profanity, foul language, politics, sex, religion, soliciting, and contents that might offend others.

USEFUL CONTACTS

AVILLA

Avilla Management Office 03-8076 6552 (bpbpavilla@yahoo.com)

Avilla Guardhouse 03-8071 1264

IOI Bdr Puteri 03-8064 8888

IOI Putrajaya (HQ) 03-8947 8888

EMERGENCY CONTACTS

Police Station (Puchong) 03-8076 2222

Emergency 999

Sunway Medical Centre (Ambulance) 03-7954 1111

Sunway Medical Centre 03-7491 9191

UTILITIES CONTACTS

TNB (Fault Report) 15454 / 1 800 8999

Telekom (Fault Report) 100

Streamyx (Fault Report) 1 300 88 9515

Astro 1 300 82 3838

03/2009 - SUGGESTIONS & COMPLAINTS

This portion of the post is for you to voice your constructive suggestions and complaints about the management of Avilla Apartment. You may enter any suggestions/complaints on matters relating to the apartment ie; management, security, landscape, staff, defects, parking, residents, activities, this blog, etc.

Put your suggestions/complaints in the comments section and we will check on it periodically and try our best to forward the matter to the relevant party.

Note: Please choose - comment as "NAME/URL" instead of ANONYMOUS so we know who is commenting. You may also put your name and unit number for better referencing; eg Mr. Lee (B-16-1)

PLYWOOD COVERING IN LIFT

Yesterday i notice the management has removed the plywood covering in one of the lifts in Block B. Wonder if they did the same for Block A. There is also a notice at the lift instructing the contractors, movers, and renovators to use the "bomba" lift. So i guess the management ppl are listening to the residents comments. Bravo. Hope everyone keep the lifts clean. Please dont smoke or litter in the lifts.

BLOG UNDER CONSTRUCTION

hi comm members,

1. Currently i have just started a basic blog...right now, this blog can be read by anyone. However there is an option to make it password protected (only invited ppl can read it.) but i dont think it is necessary.

2. With this blog we can have a separate blog aside from realestate.net to put our notices and announcement, pictures, files and also receive emails/suggestions and etc. Defaults can be changed easily (password access/public access, blog authors, comments, visitors.)

3. I dont have the emails of all comm members right now....so whoever read this blog can forward the link to the other comm members to have a look. then give as much input and also suggestions to improve or what to add. I took some pictures from the net to put here, but if u guys have other nicer pics then provide it to me.

4. If all agree to use this blog then all the comm members esp mohan, eugene and faisal can post your notices, minutes, invoice, etc directly to this blog.....i can add u guys to the authors of the blog to enable u guys to post it. All u need is a gmail account. if u dont have it then email to me at avillapch@gmail.com. I will invite u guys then u can start the email account. fast and easy.

5. Any comm members have the email address of all comm members ? can email to me?

BOOM GATE NOT FUNCTIONING

"Boom gate got hit by lightning and they're repairing it.I spoke to IOI yesterday and they're suppose to get it done by Saturday.Now its Tuesday.I wanted the company's number but IOI said they'll handle it & call me back. Very happy that our avillians are uniting and becoming one big family. Problems will always come and go but when we have all Avillians together any problem can be solved easily.When it comes to decision making we need all Avillians help as it'll be easier to implement. As for the new residents ...we all welcome you and hope you cooperate with us. With this cooperation we will be special.Unlike other places where nobody cares. Rules are rules. When security clamps a car they have a reason for it. No matter resident,president or committee members everybody has to adhere rules.Those who havent purchased a second car park lot like me have to park outside.When you want to drop some things at the lobby and go up.It shouldn't take more than 15 min.And if you are going up dont block the lobby area. Come back and park at your respective lots. There are other residents who need to unload or pick up somebody when it rains.We have to be considerate. cheers"- Mr. MOHAN

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