Kampung Buah Pala debate continues - Malaysiakini

'In the heat of any election campaign, be very careful of what you say and promise. If you can't deliver, it will come back to haunt you.'

Fresh round of Buah Pala demolition

Geronimo: Whatever promises made by the DAP prior to the 2008 election, they would have thought that it was a simple matter then. All they knew was that Koh Tsu Koon have signed off the land and it would be easy to either acquire it back or rescind the sales.

It was only after the takeover of the state administration that they realised that it was not that easy. Lim Guan Eng is a decent person and I believe he did all he could to resolve the matter but the forces were just against him. Anyway, it is a learning point for Lim. In the heat of any election campaign, be very careful of what you say and promise. If you can't deliver, it will come back to haunt you.

Suhaimi Said: This is just a case where the former BN state government had disposed of the land to a cooperative at a low price. The cooperative appointed a developer to develop the land, by then residents had exhausted all legal channels.

Kengan: What heritage value does Kg Buah Pala have? I've asked many times but nobody can answer me. There is nothing unique about their wooden and zinc shacks. No noteworthy architectural features unlike pre-war shophouses. They are unsightly structures that you can find all over rural Malaysia. The excuse of heritage value to preserve this squatter colony is very thin.

Tg Tokong residents who have stayed even longer than Kampung Buah Pala residents are only offered a RM45,000 apartment to make way for development. Kampung Buah Pala residents are offered a double-storey terrace house but apparently this is not enough for some.

Let's be realistic. The villagers have no land title, they have lost the court case so staying put is not an option.

Sdc: Two wrongs do not make a right. Yes, BN sold the land and DAP finalised the sale. There is no consideration for the residents of the land for 200 years to whom a righteous government would have alienated the land and sell it off.

Wira: MIC, where is the promised RM3.2 million? If there were 32 families, each of them could take home RM10 000 or a nice apartment in Butterworth. Maybe the money wasn't there in the first place or already used up in the MIC elections concluded recently.

Dingy: The residents are between the devil and the deep blue sea. BN is the devil while Pakatan Rakyat is the deep blue sea. They are in a lose-lose situation. The fact is in Penang, the Chinese play the important role in election. Ask them: should the state government take out hundreds of millions to save Kampung Buah Pala at the expense of the rest? Why didn't MIC, as promised, take out RM3.2 million and give it to the people there? It's still not too late, Samy Vellu!

Bagan Pinang residents will vote on Oct 11

Toyo: The EC must give us a transparent accountability of the postal vote. Where did such a big number suddenly appear from?

Rocky: Looks like voting is on a Sunday. Maybe it is an Umno area or perhaps Umno supporters are the ones not turning out for voting on working days? I hope no one brings a live cow to the nomination.
P Dev Anand Pillai: Well, we can only hope that the Indians in Bagan Pinang do not disappoint. With the new 'dream team' at the helm in MIC, the Indians will once again be carried away with the hope and rhetoric that their beloved MIC is the party where their future lies with.