Guan Eng on warpath to clear name over Kampung Buah Pala

Police stand guard as Kampung Buah Pala residents try to present workers of the developer from demolishing their homes earlier this month. — File pic

By Lee Wei Lian- The Malaysian Insider

PENANG, Sept 23 — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has gone on a fresh offensive in a bid to clear the name of the present administration over the contentious sale of land in Kampung Buah Pala on the island.

Lim today challenged former Barisan Nasional (BN) state executive councillor Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan to show proof of his claim that the Pakatan Rakyat state administration had finalised the deal and accused the previous BN state government of selling the Kampung Buah Pala land at cheap rates and without consulting the residents.

The DAP secretary-general also questioned former Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon for not daring to appear on a televised debate on national television.

Lim and Teng have been trading barbs over which party is responsible for the land transaction which resulted in a standoff between residents and the state over the issue of compensation.

"BN and Gerakan, especially Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, must show proof or stop their shocking lies that the Penang Pakatan Rakyat government finalised the village land deal and sold Kampung Buah Pala to Koperasi Pegawai Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang," Lim said in a statement.

"No amount of false reports by their ‘character assassins’ will convince Penangites that BN and Gerakan government had not robbed the Kampung Buah Pala residents of their land."

Lim also referred to declassified minutes of state executive council meetings in 2004 and 2005 and said it showed that the previous BN state administration were the ones who were responsible for alienating Kampung Buah Pala land to the cooperative twice in the state executive council meetings on Aug 18, 2004 and June 8, 2005, without consulting the residents.

Teng had in July said that the Penang government had concluded the land title to the cooperative 19 days after winning in the March 2008 general election by signing a transfer letter to the cooperative on March 27, 2008, instead of making a decision to abort the deal.

Lim says the PR government has got better compensation for the villagers.

The chief minister said however that the state was legally bound once the decision of the BN state executive council had been conveyed via approval letters for land alienation and development orders sent out to the cooperative and the developer.

"There is nothing the new PR government can do as it is bound by the decisions approved by BN. This was also affirmed by the Federal Court decision. The order for eviction and demolition was issued to the developer and not initiated by the state government," said Lim.

He noted that the meeting minutes, a video clip of then Penang Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Abdul Rashid Abdullah witnessing the signing ceremony with the developer, and letters by the Land Office to the developer in 2007 were proof that Teng was wrong in his assertions.

Lim also said that by blaming the PR state government of "robbing" the Kampung Buah Pala residents of their land, Teng was committing a case of “the thief shouting thief”.

The issue was finally settled on June 24 when the court ordered Kampung Buah Pala residents to evacuate the village to allow the landowner and the developer, Nusmetro Ventures Sdn Bhd, to start work on the site.

Twenty-two residents agreed to accept an offer of compensation from the developer of a double-storey house and RM8,000 in moving expenses.

Lim noted that the present state government had managed to improve the compensation secured by the previous administration of a RM75,000 flat to a RM600,000 double-storey landed property.