Thursday July 2, 2009
Developer: High Chaparral folk must move out by Aug 2
GEORGE TOWN: The developer of the controversial Kampung Buah Pala site will not hold any more compensation negotiations with the 300 villagers.
They will have to move out by Aug 2 when the one-month grace period given by the developer, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, expires and there will be “no more extensions”.
“If they do not vacate their houses by then, they will be in contempt of court and the police have said they will assist us,” said Nusmetro Ventures executive director Thomas Chan.
“We have a writ of possession and we are going in,” he told a press conference here yesterday. He added that the company was in the midst of working out a “goodwill payment” to the state government, which can choose to deal with the residents if it wished.
He said that under the law, developers were under no obligation to pay a single sen to the villagers, described as squatters.
“We have made offers ranging from RM140,000 to RM260,000 to the temporary occupation of land (TOL) holders as well as their immediate and extended families.
“We even offered one of the two cattle ranchers there RM330,000, including a five-year rent-free deal for a piece of land in Balik Pulau – he was on the verge of accepting before he was influenced by certain quarters,” Chan said.
He blasted the villagers for being “greedy”, claiming that one of them had demanded RM600,000 to move.
He added that the “real victims” were members of Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd (KPKN), which owned the land.
The village comprises 33 houses and some of the residents have been living in the area, popularly called “High Chaparral’’, for decades, while generations have reared cattle there.
Residents received notice on Aug 30, 2007 to move out so that their houses could be demolished. After a series of appeals, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer on June 24.
The village has been earmarked for a low medium and medium-cost housing project comprising 740 units, eight shoplots, a community hall and a kindergarten.
About 40% of the units have been sold.
According to the developer, the one-and-a-half-year delay caused by the residents have cost them RM6mil.
News Poll
- Court ruling takes bite out of local council summonses
- Girl and stepmum held over bid to kill first wife
- New evidence on MCA snoop squad case arrives at doorstep
- Chin Peng apologises for death of innocents
- Biggest karaoke session a blast
- Teoh’s body exhumed for second autopsy today
- Victim’s dad nabs kidnapper
- Puad faces flak over ‘use Bahasa only’ remark
- Foreigner falls to her death from condominium
- Big impact in ‘small’ man’s win
- Court ruling takes bite out of local council summonses
- Johor set to be a medical hub
- Joy for 2,500 housebuyers as SPNB takes over project
- Indonesia seizes ammonium nitrate shipment from Malaysia
- Hackers leak e-mails, stoke climate debate
- Latest news from AP Wire
- Coal mine blast kills 42 in China, 66 trapped
- Mumbai still vulnerable one year after attack
- Jackson moonwalk glove sells for $350K in NYC
- Novelist and his stripes
RSS
