In zoning poser, a call to fight for Penang’s 200-year-old Siamese village

A Penang legislator has questioned a move under the previous state government to change the zoning for a 200-year-old Siamese village land, which was protected by trust, for commercial development.

Yap Soo Huey, the DAP assemblywoman for Pulau Tikus, today said the land-use of the area, where Kampung Siam was located, showed that it was classified as “cultural and religious” in the 1970s.

But, the Penang Island Municipal Council’s (MPPP) Planning and Development Control Policy that was published in 1996 indicated that it had been zoned as “commercial”.

She said the land had been granted to the Siamese and Burmese communities by the East India Company on behalf of Queen Victoria in 1845. The grant stated that the land is to be used for the benefit of their descendants.

“Why was it re-zoned despite the grant given by the East India Company?”

She said developer, Five Star Heritage Sdn Bhd, submitted an application to the MPPP on April 17 to build a hotel on the 2,681 sqm site.

The land today houses residents and businessmen who are descendants of the Siamese in Penang, she said. Many still speak the Siamese language with a Malaysian dialect.

Yap (pic, left) said the MPPP and Penang government have not given any approval for the project.

“They need to investigate,” she said. “The residents also wish to pursue whether the re-zoning was valid considering the grant given by Queen Victoria.”

The developer, through its lawyer, also sent a notice to quit and deliver vacant possessions to the occupants in April. A writ of summons with a statement of claim was issued this month.

Yap urged residents and the public to lend their support to the unique heritage of the place.

A candlelight vigil will be held at 8pm tomorrow at Kampung Siam, which is located behind the Pulau Tikus police station along Burma Road, for the public to join residents in supporting the village and its community, she said. – September 26, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/poser-over-zoning-change-for-kampung-siam-in-penang#sthash.RU7eyRdD.dpuf