THE EDGE Property Excellence Awards 2013: The Team

THIS is the 11th edition of The Edge Malaysia property awards, which was introduced to recognise and raise the benchmark of the country’s best property developers.

The awards debuted in 2003 as The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards. In the last decade, enhancements and additional awards have been introduced, culminating in The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards (see box). These changes were made in response to the needs and wants of an evolving and highly competitive property investment scene.

The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards continue to be the only one of its kind in Malaysia. As the country’s premier business and investment publication, we at The Edge scrutinise and keep tabs on Malaysia’s best players from the consumer’s perspective. We honour Malaysia’s Outstanding Property Personality and we identify projects that offer excellence, be it in value creation for investors or green attributes. We put the spotlight on developers with the best qualitative attributes.

Au (seated) with the City & Country team (from left: senior writer E. Jacqui Chan, writers Haziq Hamid and Lam Jian Wyn, senior writer Wong King Wai, writer Wong Mei Kay and assistant editor Rosalynn Poh.

However, we only consider completed projects for the awards, not those off the plan.

The methodology employed for the different awards is published.

The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards is the anchor of The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards. Winners of the former are judged on their qualitative and published quantitative attributes. A panel of 10 judges, all highly knowledgeable of the local property development scene, contributes to the qualitative ranking.

For credibility, all the judges are required to abstain from voting on development companies in which they may have a direct or indirect interest. The results are tabulated and audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

Are the rankings perfect? It depends on who is asking and of whom. Be that as it may, we will continue to do our best to raise the bar for property developers while remaining the eyes and ears of real estate investors.

We would like to thank all our judges who committed time and effort to conduct their duties professionally. We would also like to thank the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector (PEPS), the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), Deloitte Malaysia, The Edge team who have contributed in one way or another to the success of The Edge property awards.

Au Foong Yee is managing director of The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd, which publishes The Edge Malaysia, The Edge Financial Daily, haven and Personal Money. She is also managing director for FZ Sdn Bhd, The Edge Galerie Sdn Bhd and Pepper Events Sdn Bh. A former executive editor of The Edge Malaysia, Au was responsible for the launch of The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards in 2003 and The Edge Malaysia PropertyExcellence Awards in 2010. She also sits on the panel of judges for the awards.

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on October 14, 2013.