Kg Buah Pala: Where is MIC now?

Penang MIC Youth chief J Dhinagaran (below) has urged Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy to bear responsibility for his role in the Buah Pala fiasco.

Tired of being repeatedly blamed for the Kampung Buah Pala controversy, the state government is pushing the responsibility to the MIC for having a hand in the homeslessness of the nine families, he added.

Ramasamy had asked the families, who had failed to get compensation from the developer, to seek help from MIC leaders, who backed them during the height of their showdown with developer, Nusmetro Venture Sdn Bhd.

Ramasamy said state MIC leaders had persuaded them not to sign the agreement in February last year for a double-storey house measuring 1,400sq ft, on the Kampung Buah Pala site.

He targeted his missiles at state MIC Youth leaders, who Ramasamydescribed as "the ones responsible" for this fiasco, which saw Penang lose its Tamil High Chapparal, one of the last remaining Indian traditional villages.

"Where are they now? Ask them to give money to the nine families," Ramasamy toldMalaysiakini, when asked to respond to the lamentations of the nine families who will not enjoy any cheer on Deepavali day.

Only legal remedy for residents
The 24 families evicted in 2009 will be receiving their keys at a ceremony on Sunday at the village grounds.

The ones left out of obtaining the homes, currently worth RM500,000 each, claimed that the government had cold storaged  them for challenging the state leaders for better compensation.

Asked if the state government would do anything to help them secure homes, Ramasamy (right) threw back a challenge "how can I help them now?"

However, he said, they could take legal action against the developer or the state government for the compensation.

He would welcome the legal suit, he added, and if they could obtain a proper package from the developer, "I would be very happy".

Ramasamy said he had met with their lawyer last month and had explained to him the actual circumstances surrounding the case.

It is learnt that the families are refiling their summons against the developer and state government, he added.

In 2009, the Kg Buah Pala residents failed to obtain Federal Court leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal order for them to vacate the land.

"I waited four months for them to sign the agreement but they never showed up," reiterated Ramasamy.

Nothing more to expose

When informed that the activists had complained about being prevented from seeing him in his Komtar office at that time, Ramasamy rubbished the charge.

He said if the state had allowed the 15 families to sign the agreement, it would have done the same for  the nine.

On the threat by the activists to "expose the truth" during the icoming general election, on  how the state government had treated them, Ramasamy said they were welcome to do so.

"We have explained everything. What else can they expose?" he asked.

On whether the keys were being handed over to the residents as a publicity stunt ahead of the Deepavali celebration as well as an election ploy, Ramasamy said the houses were ready, "so why wait?"

"If the election comes, it is only incidental," he quipped, referring to the polls which may be called next month or in the early part of next year, although not due until 2013.

‘Ramasamy, show proof!'

In an immediate response, state MIC youth chief J Dhinagaran asked Ramasamy to show proof that his party had kept the nine families from signing the agreement.

Dhinagaran said if he failed to show the proof, he should provide houses for them.

He urged Ramasamy to bear the responsibility for the mistakes instead of blaming the MIC.

"Don't throw the ball into our court now. This mistake will be a curse for the state government and Pakatan Rakyat in the coming election," Dhinagaran warned.

"They bought the people's votes by saying the residents would lose their homes over their dead bodies, now they have to pay for it," he added.

Dhinagaran, who is national MIC Youth treasurer, said it was because of MIC that the other Buah Pala villagers were able to get such nice homes.