Thanks for the emails regarding the recent Malaysian property blogs. The subject of monkeys dominated the postbag. While I am reliably informed that two expatriate families moved into central KL to avoid the long-tailed variety, readers in Malaysia tell me these are not the monkeys to worry about.
“Monkeys?” writes Benny. On the subject of suburban Kuala Lumpur bungalows being plagued by monkeys, “I don’t think the monkey tales are true, in general. It is not easy to spot a monkey nowadays, even in the Batu caves, due to clearing of the jungle to make way for the concrete one.”
He says that the safety issue for landed property is more of a concern, because “most places have one to two tier safety systems. Perhaps the real "monkey" you should be scared of are the human thugs.”
Another Malaysian reader, Nik Shahrizal is equally sceptical about monkeys deterring buyers in leafy KL suburbs. “I am a Malaysian. Love properties,” writes Nik. “Read your article. Laughed about the comments on big monkeys outside KL. Never seen one in my life.” Well that seems to knock the monkeys on the head. Mea culpa, I bow to local knowledge. But I will be back with a photo from my next trip, if there is a suburban monkey to be seen.
Benny also scoffs at the idea that Middle Eastern buyers are snapping up Kuala Lumpur city centre flats, too. “Most of the luxury property developers (in places like Mont Kiara , Bangsar, Damansara) would screen through their clients before offering them the units, as I know they do not encourage too many of one nationality (except Malaysian of course),” he says. OK Benny, but a night time drive around town showed few lights on these glass towers, which tends to support the absentee owner theory, and it was local Malaysians who told me about the Middle East buyers. Malaysian developers have also recently been offering units to Hong Kong buyers too.
Value in the Suburbs