KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 24 -- In strata properties, one resident's decision to stop paying maintenance fees can compromise fire safety for the entire building.

This is because unpaid fees often leave the joint-management bodies (JMB) of these high-density developments like flats, condominiums, townhouses with shared facilities, and stratified commercial buildings without the funds to properly maintain shared fire safety systems, increasing the danger during emergencies.

"Do not default on your payments, because sometimes when we conduct inspections and issue fire-hazard abatement notices to joint-management bodies they inform us of budget constraints they faced," Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (Bomba) director-general Datuk Seri Nor ...