Kampung Buah Pala residents received another reprieve on Tuesday after property developer Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd agreed to meet with Penang state leaders and the villagers later tonight.
Earlier, the villagers flanked by activists and Pakatan Rakyat leaders had formed a human shield to keep out a team of about 30 demolitionists, who brought with them a court bailiff.
Nusmetro has a valid court order to evict and tear down the homes of the villagers.
Although they have appealed, the Federal Court will only hear their case on August 18. Stay applications filed have been rejected.
“We will continue to be here. We want Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to use his executive power to reclaim the land,” Kampung Buah Pala residents association assistant secretary C Tharmaraj had said.
From threats to tears
At the heart of it, the Kampung Buah Pala issue is yet another in the string of sordid land scams sanctioned by the previous state government led by Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon.
It has been twisted beyond recognition – with inaccurate information flying around the island – by the MIC and other BN-friendly politicians including P Uthayakumar and his brother Waythamoorthy to gain political publicity for themselves.
These groups may have unwittingly given the villagers false hope, making it difficult for the current administration led by DAP’s Lim Guan Eng to find a practical way forward.
The village land was sold at way below market price by Tsu Koon for about RM3.2 million to the Penang Government Officers Cooperative. The market value is now more than RM100 million.
“The state’s annual budget is only RM477mil. I cannot sacrifice the interests of 1.5 million Penangites by allocating almost a quarter of the budget to save the home of 23 families,” Guan Eng reiterated on Monday.
Meanwhile, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy – who has played an instrumental role in keeping Nusmetro at bay long before the MIC, Uthayakumar and Waythamoorthy came onto the scene – has asked the villagers to return to their homes.
But what happens to the village tomorrow will now depend on what transpires at the meeting tonight.
It must also be pointed out that Nusmetro and the Cooperative are backed by the BN and they can hold out – especially if it means more headaches for the Pakatan state government.
Nevertheless, all parties – the villagers, Nusmetro, the Cooperative and even Guan Eng’s administration – will stand to lose if each refuses to come down to earth and negotiate and compromise.
Earlier, the villagers flanked by activists and Pakatan Rakyat leaders had formed a human shield to keep out a team of about 30 demolitionists, who brought with them a court bailiff.
Nusmetro has a valid court order to evict and tear down the homes of the villagers.
Although they have appealed, the Federal Court will only hear their case on August 18. Stay applications filed have been rejected.
“We will continue to be here. We want Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to use his executive power to reclaim the land,” Kampung Buah Pala residents association assistant secretary C Tharmaraj had said.
From threats to tears
At the heart of it, the Kampung Buah Pala issue is yet another in the string of sordid land scams sanctioned by the previous state government led by Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon.
It has been twisted beyond recognition – with inaccurate information flying around the island – by the MIC and other BN-friendly politicians including P Uthayakumar and his brother Waythamoorthy to gain political publicity for themselves.
These groups may have unwittingly given the villagers false hope, making it difficult for the current administration led by DAP’s Lim Guan Eng to find a practical way forward.
The village land was sold at way below market price by Tsu Koon for about RM3.2 million to the Penang Government Officers Cooperative. The market value is now more than RM100 million.
“The state’s annual budget is only RM477mil. I cannot sacrifice the interests of 1.5 million Penangites by allocating almost a quarter of the budget to save the home of 23 families,” Guan Eng reiterated on Monday.
Meanwhile, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy – who has played an instrumental role in keeping Nusmetro at bay long before the MIC, Uthayakumar and Waythamoorthy came onto the scene – has asked the villagers to return to their homes.
But what happens to the village tomorrow will now depend on what transpires at the meeting tonight.
It must also be pointed out that Nusmetro and the Cooperative are backed by the BN and they can hold out – especially if it means more headaches for the Pakatan state government.
Nevertheless, all parties – the villagers, Nusmetro, the Cooperative and even Guan Eng’s administration – will stand to lose if each refuses to come down to earth and negotiate and compromise.
SK
04/08/09
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