Luqman's musings

  When Law Becomes a Fortress: A Follow-Up to “ Sabah for Sabahan ” LINK In a recent LinkedIn exchange, lawyer Ronny Cham responded to criticism of his role in the Vistana Heights housing saga with a striking declaration: “What I write is law, what I do is law.”   It’s a bold statement—one that demands scrutiny, especially when spoken by someone whose firm has represented a developer accused of delays, defects, and evasive tactics in a decade-long housing dispute affecting local Sabahans .

When Rhetoric Meets Reality in a Local Housing Nightmare In a recent LinkedIn post (Copied below for your convenience) that has sparked thoughtful debate among Sabahans , veteran lawyer Ronny Cham , Founder and Senior Partner of Ronny Cham & Co (established in 1984), passionately critiques the slogan "Sabah for Sabahan" as a "dangerous illusion." Drawing from his decades of experience in Kota Kinabalu, Cham argues that true progress for Sabah lies not in isolation from the Federal Government but in "intelligent partnership, accountability, and integrity in leadership." He warns against divisive rhetoric that severs the "lifeline" of federal support for defense, infrastructure, education, and health—essentials that Sabah lacks the capacity to fully provide on its own. Disclaimer: To be clear, I'm not here to debate MA63. This post simply contrasts what Cham claims with his actual actions.

  The term "Little Napoleon" was coined by Malaysia’s fifth Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah), to describe civil servants who mirror the arrogance, self-importance, and power-hungry tendencies of the 18th-century French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. Initially used to critique lower-level bureaucrats, the term now applies to a broader, more alarming trend where senior officials, including heads of departments, exhibit behaviors that undermine the principles of democracy and public service.

I read the following in our Daily Express yesterday, 20.7.2025 titled: PAM Sabah celebrates its Golden Jubilee. “Our aim is to reinforce PAM as a proactive platform not only for professional development but also for meaningful engagement with local authorities, educational institutions, and our members,” Daniel said. Ar. Daniel Koh Chung Hou is the current chairman of PAM (Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia) Sabah Chapter. I will write a post on this tomorrow. Meanwhile here are background information to understand better my intended response to the newspaper article. 

Mr. Ronny Cham’s post on LinkedIn Recently I read a well written article in LinkedIn by Mr. Ronny Cham. I responded as follows: Your dissenting view on the SLS decision to initiate legal proceedings against the Federal Government over the 40% revenue entitlement is a well-reasoned and principled stance….

  In my blog post yesterday , I discussed a letter from LPPB dated November 23, 2022, which stated, “We sincerely hope there will be a solution for both parties from the meeting with TCSB and their respective consultants.” However, I received an earlier letter, dated November 16, 2022, from Ronny Cham & Co., signed by Cham Ngit Shin @Ronny Cham, addressed to Puan Rosemary Ahping, LPPB’s General Manager. This letter referenced a meeting on November 16, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., attended by Topwira Corporation Sdn Bhd (the developer), LPPB, project consultants, and senior officers. It noted LPPB’s suggestion that Topwira meet with affected house buyers to resolve issues amicably, but Topwira insisted that buyers attend with their solicitors, architects, engineers, and surveyors to ensure a productive discussion.

  On 23.11.2022, I received a letter from The Commercial Development Architect, Mohamed Andy Osman of LPPB, stating the following: 1.      This letter is to update you with regards to our meeting with Topwira Corporation Sdn Bhd dated 16.11.2022. TCSB has assured LPPB that they are willing to meet with the relevant residents to resolve matters amicably, especially with the incorporation of architects, C&S, M&E engineering consultants for their inputs and assistance in the settlement of matters 2.      Therefore, please contact TCSB directly or TCSB’ lawyer*, Mr. Ronny Cham to arrange a date and time for the meeting. 3.      We sincerely hope there will be a solution for both parties from the meeting with TCSB and their respective consultants. ** 

  Tatal ke bawah untuk membaca dalam Bahasa Melayu Is it for better protection for house buyers or for some other reason? Here is an email I wrote on 16.8.2023 to the Minister in charge of Housing and copied to the Mayor, DBKK officers, LPPB, Sabah Surveyors Board, Land & Survey Department, Datuk Jamili Nais, and Datuk Roland Chia (PA to the Chief Minister - Datuk Hajiji). Dear Datuk Seri Joachim Gunsalam, In a Daily Express article dated 11.8.2023, I read the following: “In general, this enactment is a law for the licensing control of housing development matters in Sabah and serves to protect the interest of home buyers….”. This enactment is to protect the interest of home buyers of ‘sick housing’ projects so that they will not turn into abandoned housing. “The essence of the amendment to this Bill is firstly, to protect homebuyers, especially from problematic housing development. Secondly, the purpose is also to prevent any housing developers from taking the easy w...

In early April I was pleasantly surprised to see a Facebook post by a highly respected architect. He had copy-pasted many of my blog posts and many of his architect friends had commented on his post. Here are some of the main points he highlighted and my rebuttal.

  The lawyer for the developer, Topwira Corporation Sdn. Bhd. wrote to Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia Sabah Chapter (PAM) a letter with disinformation. This letter was then forwarded to PAM Malaysia. PAM did not write to me to verify the authenticity of the contents of the letter. When I received a copy of the letter from Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia at the end of March 2023, I wrote two emails to the lawyer asking him to explain the wrong information given but have yet to receive a reply.  Are lawyers allowed to write such disinformation and get away with it? Here are my emails to the lawyer.

luqman michel  <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk> To: Stanley.Chong@sabah.gov.my Cc: mayor@dbkk.sabah.gov.my , aduan.lppb@sabah.gov.my , jtu@sabah.gov.my , ljsabah@gmail.com , eims@dbkk.sabah.gov.my Mon, 27 Mar at 06:53 Dear Mr. Stanley Chong, I hope to receive the minutes of the meeting held on 10.3.2023 soon. Meanwhile, I received an email on 21.3.2023 from PAM which included a letter dated 29.9.2022 from Mr. Ronny Cham, the lawyer acting for the developer of Vistana Heights. 

  Ronny Cham & Co replied to my email dated 20.1.2023 and said that they had no further instruction from their client Rosemary and Della of LPPB. I replied their email with the following on 30.1.2023 and resent it on 16.2.2023 and have not heard from them.  This is for record purposes to be included in my next book. 

I believe I have enough material to write my fourth book. I am recording this here so that I can copy paste when I am ready to publish my book.  Mr. Ronny Cham wrote an email to me on 25.11.2022 stating that he is acting for Rosemary Ahping and Della E. Sinidol of Lembaga Pembangunan Perumahan Dan Bandar (LPPB). He said that I had caused to publish in my Facebook account and in my luqman.blogspot.com libelous and defamatory remarks concerning his clients.  He asked me if I was prepared among other matters: to propose a reasonable compensation to our clients, of not less than RM2 million each, considering the fact that our clients have been put to immediate loss and damage, shame and ridicule, irreparable disparity and injury to their reputation, professional integrity and good will, and a possibility of loss of employment and deprivation of a reasonable livelihood for them and their families.

As mentioned previously in another blog on Critical Thinking - Part 3 ( www.dyslexiafriend.com .) it looks like I am going to be quite involved with this case. The more I probe into this case the more there is to probe.