City & Country senior editor E Jacqui Chan (left), The Edge publisher and group CEO Datuk Ho Kay Tat (second from left), The Edge editor emeritus and awards’ chief judge Au Foong Yee (third from left) and The Edge editor-in-chief Kathy Fong (right) with winners of the Editor’s Choice Awards of The Edge Malaysia BMSPA 2024. (Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Having shone at the inaugural awards in 2017, the spotlight was on the Petronas Twin Towers once again this year as it was awarded gold at The Edge Malaysia Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards (BMSPA) 2024 under the 10 Years and Above – Non-strata Office category.

The Petronas Twin Towers was also the recipient of the Editor’s Choice Awards for Timeless Excellence. The development is managed by KLCC Urusharta Sdn Bhd.

In 2017, the towers bagged gold for the Non-strata – Commercial category and the Editor’s Choice Awards for Iconic Innovation.

Properties that previously won gold at the BMSPA can only resubmit their property for consideration after three years.

Meanwhile, KLCC Park, also managed by KLCC Urusharta, retained its gold status this year under the 10 Years and Above — Specialised and Gold for The Edge Malaysia-ILAM Sustainable Landscape Awards 2024 under the Landscape Planning category. It also took home the Editor’s Choice Awards for Exemplary Community Magnet.

The park had previously won in 2018 for the same Specialised category and obtained the Editor’s Choice Award for Exemplary Contribution to Nation.

The gala dinner for this year’s awards was held at the One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya, on Monday. In his welcome speech, The Edge publisher and group CEO Datuk Ho Kay Tat said the record number of submissions for the awards this year was a heartening sign of growing awareness and commitment to best-in-class and sustainable property management practices.

“It signifies that more and more industry professionals are recognising the critical impact of property management on the value of properties and the standard of living for those who inhabit them,” he added.

BMSPA 2024 received a record 75 entries from all over the country as compared to 52 last year. Of these, 49 were shortlisted for the awards, 11 more than last year’s. Eventually, 34 projects received recognition for their outstanding achievement in property management.

This year, there were 10 categories of awards, covering residential, office, mixed development, shopping mall and specialised properties. Each category was divided into two segments to reflect the age of the properties — Below 10 Years and 10 Years and Above.

In addition to the anchor awards, The Edge Malaysia-ILAM Sustainable Landscape Awards 2024 and the Editor’s Choice Awards 2024 were also presented.

Other properties that received the Editor’s Choice Awards this year were Menara UOA Bangsar (managed by Henry Butcher (Mont Kiara) Sdn Bhd or HBMK) for Sterling Stakeholders Partnership, Sunway SPK Damansara (managed by its own residents’ association) for Exemplary Commitment to Excellence and Lakefront Homes @ Cyberjaya (managed by Avaland Bhd) for Malaysia’s Outstanding Affordable Homes.

The Editor’s Choice winners were also gold winners in their respective main categories.

KLCC Park in the 10 Years and Above – Specialised category and The Edge Malaysia-ILAM Sustainable Landscape Awards 2024 Landscape Planning category. Menara UOA Bangsar in the 10 Years and Above – Mixed Development (Entire); Sunway SPK Damansara in the 10 Years and Above – Non-strata Residential; and Lakefront Homes @ Cyberjaya in the Below 10 Years – Sustainable Affordable Housing category.

Other gold winners in the main categories for BMSPA 2024 included UOA Business Park Tower 7 (managed by HBMK) in the Below 10 Years – Single-owned Office in a Mixed Strata Development; The Park Residences 1 (managed by Laurelcap Property Management (Selangor) Sdn Bhd or Laurelcap) in the 10 Years and Above – Multiple-owned Strata Residential; 11 Mont’Kiara (managed by HBMK) in the 10 Years and Above – Multiple-owned Strata Residential; Pavilion Suites Kuala Lumpur (managed by HBMK) in the Below 10 Years – Multiple-owned Strata Residential; Ryan & Miho Residence (managed by HBMK) in the Below 10 Years – Multiple-Owned Strata Residential; Essex Gardens, Setia Eco Templer (managed by Laurelcap) in the Below 10 Years – Multiple-Owned Strata Residential; Jade Hills (managed by Gamuda Land Services Sdn Bhd) – in the 10 Years and Above – Non-strata Residential; Menara KWSP (managed by Knight Frank Property Management Sdn Bhd or KFPM) in the Below 10 Years – Non-strata Office; The Astaka @ One Bukit Senyum (managed by KFPM) in the Below 10 Years – Multiple-Owned Strata Residential.

Silver winners in the main categories were Residensi Duta Kiara (managed by HBMK) in the Below 10 Years – Multiple-owned Strata Residential; Island Hospital (managed by Island Hospital Sdn Bhd) in the Below 10 Years – Specialised; Panorama KLCC (managed by HBMK) in the 10 Years and Above – Multiple-owned Strata Residential; Setia City Mall (managed by Lendlease Malaysia) in the 10 Years and Above – Retail; and The Pearl @ KLCC (managed by HBMK) in the 10 Years and Above – Multiple-owned Strata Residential.

Meanwhile, bronze winners include Jesselton Residences & Mall (managed by KFPM) in the Below 10 Years – Mixed Development (Entire); Urban Residences (managed by Narra Realty Services Sdn Bhd) in the Below 10 Years – Mixed Development (Entire); Paradigm Mall PJ (managed by HBMK) in the 10 Years and Above – Mixed Development (Entire); Ativo Plaza (managed by TA Global Bhd) in the 10 Years and Above – Mixed Development (Entire); SkyMeridien Residences in the Below 10 Years – Multiple-owned Strata Residential; M Centura (managed by Mah Sing Group Bhd) in the Below 10 Years – Multiple-owed Strata Residential; Design Village Outlet Mall (managed by Design Village) in the Below 10 Years – Retail; KL East Mall (managed by Sime Darby Property Bhd or SDP) in the Below 10 Years – Retail; Crystal Plaza (managed by Axis Facilities Management Sdn Bhd) in the 10 Years and Above – Non-strata Office.

For The Edge Malaysia-ILAM Sustainable Landscape Awards 2024, TNB Platinum Bangsar was awarded gold for Landscape Design while both KLCC Park and KL East Park (Phase 1) were awarded gold for Landscape Planning.

Four developments received special mention: PJ8 (managed by KFPM) in the 10 Years and Above – Mixed Development (Entire); Menara AmBank (managed by KFPM) in the 10 Years and Above – Non-strata Office; Cendana (managed by SCM International Property Management Sdn Bhd) in the 10 Years and Above – Multiple-owned Strata Residential; and PARC @ Taman Subang Ria in the Below 10 Years – Specialised.

In his welcome speech, Ho further explained the judging process. “The awards are judged by a panel of experts from the Malaysia and Singapore real estate industry, and they are based on a rigorous set of criteria that includes property management practices, cost management, sustainability and overall excellence.

“Over five weeks, they conducted site visits to projects in the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Penang, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. It was an extensive and intensive judging process. Each visit takes up around two hours, so just over 100 hours have been put in by our judges and they were doing it pro bono. Our judges deserve a big hand!”

The judges for this year’s awards were The Edge editor emeritus and the awards’ chief judge Au Foong Yee, City & Country senior editor E Jacqui Chan, Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia president Datuk NK Tong, Association of Property and Facility Managers (APFM) president Lim Lan Yuan, Architect Centre Sdn Bhd accredited architect Anthony Lee Tee, Chur Associates founder and managing director Chris Tan, Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA) vice chairman Tan Choon Siang, Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers (MIPFM) Ishak Ismail, Building Management Association of Malaysia (BMAM) committee member Richard Chan and Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM) president Nor Atiah Ismail.

This year’s sponsors were Nippon Paint Malaysia as the main partner, with support from the Association APFM, Architect Centre, BMAM, EdgeProp Malaysia, ILAM, MRMA and Rehda.

The results were audited by Deloitte Malaysia.