A cut above: EdgeProp Malaysia’s Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards 2021

Established in 2017, EdgeProp Malaysia’s Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards enters its fifth instalment in 2021, seeking to recognise real estate that is managed with excellence and sustainability.

The awards ceremony in 2020 went into the virtual realm due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and following a full year of adjusting and accommodating our lives to the new norms, the ceremony in 2021 returned to its physical form.

The 2021 awards gala night was held on April 4 at One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya, graced by Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.

EdgeProp Malaysia’s Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards 2021 was organised by EdgeProp Malaysia with Nippon Paint Malaysia and Panasonic Malaysia as partner and supporting partner respectively. It is endorsed by the Ministry and supported by the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA), Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers (MIPFM), Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA), the Building Management Association of Malaysia (BMAM), the Association of Property and Facility Managers Singapore, Architect Centre,  and the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM).

Guests were made up of major players in the real estate industry including property management practitioners and captains of leading property development companies.

It was a special evening in more ways than one as guests took the opportunity to catch up with one another face to face, albeit with their masks on, while maintaining social distancing. Strict Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) were adhered to throughout the event.

EdgeProp Malaysia editor-in-chief and managing director Au Foong Yee said the awards are dedicated to Malaysia’s Gold Standard of property management practices and sustainability.

“It is about recognising Malaysia’s developments that are built and managed with excellence. It is about honouring Malaysia’s responsible developers — developers who build for sustainability, developers who care for all their stakeholders, including the consumers,” Au said in her speech.

Au noted that Covid-19 continues to reshape and recalibrate how people live — a new normal was set forth from the first Movement Control Order period which started on March 18, 2020.

“Medical personnel were immediately identified as the nation’s frontliners. As the cold reality sank in, the important roles of unsung heroes, the likes of property managers, came into light. In recognising Malaysia’s outstandingly-managed and sustainable real estate, we are also paying tribute to these unsung heroes behind the project scene,” she says.

Hence, though the objective of the Awards remained the same as when it was conceptualised, the judging criteria put a spotlight on crisis preparedness of property managements in handling the pandemic and other crises.

Meanwhile, in her keynote address, Zuraida noted that property development is not merely for the sake of building houses for people to live in but to build homes that can last for generations.

“It’s not just about construction and development, but it’s about sustainability. We also need to conserve the environment,” she said, while urging industry players to embrace green technology to help ensure a development is sustainable in the long run.

“No point having fanciful buildings if we could not maintain them,” she added.

Besides the anchor awards, EdgeProp Malaysia’s Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards 2021 also comprises the coveted EdgeProp Malaysia’s Responsible Developer: Building Sustainable Development Award, the EdgeProp Malaysia Editor’s Choice Awards and the EdgeProp-ILAM Malaysia’s Sustainable Landscape Awards.

Setting high standards to be emulated

One of the highlights of the night was the unveiling of the Malaysia Developers’ Hall of Fame. Membership is exclusively accorded to winners of EdgeProp Malaysia’s Responsible Developer: Building Sustainable Development Award which was introduced in 2018.

Receiving the award and inducted into the Hall of Fame this year were Eco World Development Group Bhd, Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd and Sime Darby Property Bhd.

Notably, Sime Darby Property’s 300-acre Elmina Central Park in City of Elmina, Shah Alam, Selangor received the EdgeProp Malaysia Editor’s Choice Award as Malaysia’s Exemplary Sustainable Community Park 2021. It also bagged the Gold of EdgeProp-ILAM Malaysia’s Sustainable Landscape Awards in the Landscape Planning category.

Other key winners for the night were Gamuda Land and Sunway Group, as they managed to bag several awards; while a number of projects managed by Henry Butcher Malaysia (Mont Kiara) Sdn Bhd (HBMK) also garnered accolades.

Meanwhile, Gamuda Land’s Valencia township in Sungai Buloh, Selangor continues to shine as it was EdgeProp Malaysia Editor’s Choice for Malaysia’s Outstanding Sustainable Township 2021. It also won Gold in the 10 Years and Above — Non-strata Residential category. Valencia is no stranger to the Awards as the township won Gold in the same category in 2017 and Silver in the EdgeProp-ILAM Malaysia’s Sustainable Landscape Awards 2019.

Gamuda Land’s 50-acre Central Park (Phases 1, 2, 3) located within Gamuda Gardens township in north Sungai Buloh also won Gold in the EdgeProp-ILAM Malaysia’s Sustainable Landscape Awards under the Landscape Planning category.

Similarly, Hill Park @ Bukit Banyan in Sungai Petani, Kedah by Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd won Gold as well in the Landscape Planning category.

The night was a triumphant one for HBMK as seven projects managed by the company were featured at the awards. They included Serai Bukit Bandaraya (Gold), Westside III Desa ParkCity (Gold) and The Greens TTDI (Silver) in the Below 10 years Multiple-owned Strata Residential category; Kiara Park (Gold), Seni Mont’Kiara (Silver) and Hampshire Residences (Bronze) in the 10 Years and Above Multiple-owned Strata Residential category; and Irama Wangsa (Gold) in the Edgeprop-ILAM Malaysia’s Sustainable Landscape Awards (Landscape Design category).

Also winning Gold in the Landscape Design category was Essex Gardens @ Setia Eco Templer by S P Setia Bhd.

It was also a jubilant night for Sunway Group as the relatively new Sunway Velocity Mall, the much loved Sunway Pyramid shopping centre and Sunway GEO Tower took home Golds in their respective categories.

It was also heartening to see for the first time an individual home being featured at the Awards. S11 House in Petaling Jaya, the home of award-winning architect and past president of the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), Dr Tan Loke Mun, was honoured with EdgeProp Malaysia Editor’s Choice Awards — Malaysia’s Exemplary Sustainable Home 2021. It also received a Special Mention in the Below 10 Years — Specialised Category of the anchor awards.

The EdgeProp Malaysia’s Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards attracted more than 40 submissions. This is no mean feat given the challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic. Of note is the diverse properties that entered the awards including educational institutions such as The International School @ ParkCity which won Silver in the Below 10 Years and Sri KDU Schools which took home Gold in the 10 Years and Above — Specialised categories.

Unlike previous years when judges visited shortlisted sites physically, visits were carried out virtually for a month long.

The judges for EdgeProp Malaysia’s Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards were Au as chief judge, REHDA deputy president Datuk Tong Nguen Khoong, MRMA president Datuk Jeffrey Ng, Architect Centre accredited architect and trainer Anthony Lee Tee, MIPFM president  Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin, BMAM committee member Richard Chan, Chur Associates founder and managing partner Chris Tan, and Association of Property & Facility Managers Singapore president Dr. Lim Lan Yuan.

The judges for Edgeprop-ILAM Malaysia’s Sustainable Landscape Awards 2021 were Au and ILAM vice-president Assoc. Prof. Lar. Dr. Nor Atiah Ismail.

The results of the Awards were audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

Check out the microsite for Edgeprop’s Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards 2021 here

This story first appeared in the EdgeProp.my E-weekly on April 9, 2021. You can access back issues here.

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