Saturday July 4, 2009
Penang prepared to cancel developer’s project
By K. KASTURI DEWI
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government is prepared to cancel Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd’s project in Kampung Buah Pala if the developer fails to compensate the residents.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday that the state was willing to face financial losses if it cancelled the project and the developer took action against the state.
“I just want to warn the developer not to test the state government’s patience because we will not back out just like that,” he told a press conference after opening a photography exhibition entitled “View Through the Lens of Photojournalist” by the Penang Chinese Newspapers Journalists and Photographers’ Association at the main entrance of Komtar yesterday.
Lim also warned the developer not to issue threats that they would move in to take possession of the houses.
It was reported on Thursday that Nusmetro Ventures executive director Thomas Chan said the company has a writ of possession and that it would go in.
Lim also warned the developer not to act in a high-handed way thinking that it could escape paying compensation just because it had obtained a court order.
He also said that he had no problem meeting the residents but added that this would give an impression that both his deputies Dr P. Ramasamy and Mansor Othman, who were assigned to handle the matter, were not capable of doing their job.
“The former state government and Barisan Nasional created this mess and (former chief minister) Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon should address the matter in the Cabinet on Wednesday as the present state government is not financially capable,” he said.
Lim also said that the state could not buy back the land at the RM3.2mil price paid by the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd to the previous state government as the land was now valued 20 times more.
On the threat by residents to send a letter to Unesco to revoke George Town’s World Heritage Site listing, Lim said they had the right to do so if they wanted to, but pointed out that the village was not in the heritage zone.
Deputy Chief Minister II Dr Ramasamy, who was also present, said the state had waited 15 months to investigate the matter as in the beginning, the residents had won two cases involving the land in the Penang High Court.
He said the state would also check if the documents from the Land Office were in order and find out why the land was sold by the previous state government at the low price of RM3.2mil.
Kampung Buah Pala Association assistant secretary C. Tharmaraj, when contacted, questioned the position of the state to talk about compensation issues when it had yet to meet the residents or complete investigations.
“We don’t want the money. We want the state to reveal how the land transaction happened. The transfer was made on March 26 last year and the council building permission was given in November 2007,” said Tharmaraj.
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