Friday July 3, 2009
Residents threaten to sabotage heritage status if state fails to stop demolition
GEORGE TOWN: Angry residents of Kampung Buah Pala have threatened to send a letter to Unesco to revoke George Town’s World Heritage Site status should the state fail to stop their village from being demolished.
Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association chairman M. Sugumaran also warned that villagers would bring their cows to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s office if he refuses to meet them to discuss their plight.
The villagers, he said, had sent a letter to Lim seeking an urgent meeting.
He claimed the state was “killing” the living heritage of the village, popularly known as Penang’s High Chaparral.
Refusing to be cowed: Kampung Buah Pala villagers protesting with placards as the cows come home yesterday. Policemen had to be called in to protect bailiffs who came to post court orders at their houses. The villagers have threatened to take their cows to the Chief Minister’s office if he does not help. “The war has just begun. Look at what happened when the bailiffs came to serve the notice and imagine what will happen on Aug 2 when the grace period given expires,” he told a press conference after bailiffs who had come to post notices left the village yesterday.
There was a tense moment when three bailiffs arrived at about 11.30am with two court officials and an official from the developer, Nusmetro Ventures.
Villagers started shouting and tried blocking the entrance. Police personnel then escorted Nusmetro Ventures executive director Thomas Chan away.
The bailiffs began putting up the eviction notices on the gate, trees and posts but residents tore down some of them later.
Claiming irregularities in the notice served, Sugumaran said it was directed to 41 temporary occupation licence holders when Lim said there were only 23 families.
Lim said in a statement that it was wrong for the developer to fan fear among the villagers by threatening to evict them when the one-month grace period would expire only on Aug 2.
The developer, he said, should continue to find a way to reach a win-win solution.
He also said the state would not “take a single cent” of the goodwill payment as proposed by the developer unless the villagers agreed to the compensation.
Gerakan Youth chief Oh Tong Keong, meanwhile, said Lim, instead of taking measures to help the affected villagers, was focusing on bad-mouthing the previous Barisan Nasional state government, Hindraf and everyone else except his government and party.
Related Stories:
Kit Siang slams Hindraf for blaming Penang govt
Govt urged to step into Kg Buah Pala issue
Headed for a split
It will be a party or NGO, says Uthayakumar
Previous report:
High Chaparral: Developer urged to hold on for investigation
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