Lim not aware of Anwar’s ‘Kampung Buah Pala’ pledge – Bernama

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told the High Court in George Town today that he was unaware of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's pledge to "save Kampung Buah Pala".

"I am not aware of it," said Lim when cross-examined by counsel Baljit Singh, who was representing Penang Citizens Awareness Chant Group (Chant) adviser Jimmy Lim Cheok Siang.

Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, also said he never knew that Anwar had made a pledge to the residents prior to the 2008 general election.

To another question whether Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer and Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy had promised Kampung Buah Pala residents that they could stay in the area perpetually, Lim said he was not aware of it.

Lim was testifying in his defamation trial against Jimmy, Mtoday News Sdn Bhd (second defendant) and journalist Athi Shankar (third defendant).

Lim stressed that only George Town had been recognised as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

"The article was written without seeking my comment and clarification, and intended to defame me as chief minister and also as an individual."

In January last year, Lim filed the suit claiming that the first defendant made a statement in a press conference on December 6, 2013, which was misleading and malicious, and defamatory to him.

In his statement of claim, he alleged that Mtoday News Sdn Bhd and Shankar had deliberately, erroneously and with malicious intent caused the publication of an article, "Guan Eng has failed, says NGO".

The plaintiff claimed that the article which appeared in the Free Malaysia Today website the same day, had portrayed him as a chief minister without calibre for trying to destroy the world heritage status accorded to Penang.

Lim also alleged that the article had also portrayed him as a leader or individual who had no regard for the wellbeing of the local Indian community by allowing the destruction of Kampung Buah Pala.

The hearing before judicial commissioner Datuk Nordin Hassan has been adjourned to February 27. – Bernama, January 19, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/lim-not-aware-of-anwars-kampung-buah-pala-pledge-bernama#sthash.onU9k6l2.dpuf

Rama rekindles KBP row, blames MIC Youth

The deputy chief minister says Mohan and his MIC youth members leapt into the fray and worsened the situation. Mohan rebuts by saying Ramasamy was cooking up lies.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy today blamed MIC national youth chief T Mohan as the man responsible for the nine families of now banished Kampung Buah Pala to be left in a lurch without proper compensation.

He also claimed that the nine families refused to sign on the dotted lines of the housing compensation offer even though he had begged them to do so.

At the height of residents protest against their village imminent demolition, Ramasamy said Mohan and his MIC youth members leapt into the fray and worsened the situation as the state government was working out a formula to reach an amicable solution.

Thus, he claimed Mohan had influenced the nine families to reject the housing compensation offer from the Pakatan Rakyat state government.

“It’s a fact that Mohan and his MIC youth blocked the residents from accepting the offer.

“Mohan is responsible … he has to answer,” Ramasamy told a public forum organised by DAP’s Lintang Delima branch in Chinese Town Hall here today.

The forum was on: ‘What is the position of Indian community in Malaysia today and their future after 54 years of independence.’

Cooking up lies

However, in an immediate response, Mohan slammed Ramasamy as “childish, inexperienced and immatured politician” who only knew to cook up lies to cover up his own weaknesses, blunders and wrongdoings.

“With his position as DCM2, he could have done a lot for the Indian community.

“He could have saved Kampung Buah Pala but he failed miserably,” Mohan told FMT, recalling Ramasamy’s ‘over my dead body’ promise to stop the village demolition.

The village residents association chairman M Sugumaran also rapped Ramasamy for spreading falsehoods that the nine village tol holders rejected the housing compensation offer.

“We were never offered in the first place.

“Ramasamy lied when he said he begged us … blatant lies,” insisted Sugumaran.

At the forum, a short video on Kampung Buah Pala was also screened, and it suggested that the previous Barisan Nasional administration and MIC were to be blamed for the village fiasco in 2009.

Mohan rebuked Ramasamy for wrongly blaming him, saying that the MIC’s main intention was to save the last Indian traditional village on Penang island.

He said the party’s offer to buy the village land at RM3.2 million was rejected by the state government which hiked up the land price at over RM140 million.

“Ramasamy is trying to save his near death political career by spreading lies. He is bankrupt of ideas,” said Mohan.

The KBP issue

Kampung Buah Pala, which was known commonly as Tamil High Chaparral due to the population of ethnic Indians, cattle and other livestock, was demolished in 2009 to pave way for a posh condominium project, the Oasis, by Nusmetro Venture (Pg) Sdn Bhd.

Originally the village had 33 households. After the land was alienated by the previous BN administration, between 2005 and 2007, nine tol holders accepted the original compensation package, consisting low medium cost flat unit and cash, and left the village for good.

The remaining 24 tol holders fought for the land rights until the village was demolished.

The village land title was transferred to the Penang Civil Servant Cooperative Society on March 27, 2008 after the DAP-led Pakatan took over state powers.

On Oct 31, 2009, the new landowner, the civil servants cooperative society agreed to build 24 double-storey terrace houses as compensation on part of the flattened village land.

But, an unanimous decision was also reached by 121 delegates at the cooperative society extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that out of the 24 double-storey houses, nine units must be given to the former residents, who have left the village after receiving the original compensation.

The remaining 15 houses were given to those among the 24 tol holders enlisted by the Pakatan government, leaving nine families in a lurch without a single compensation.

Although the state government announced in the media about the compensation offer, Sugumaran said the sidelined nine families were never allowed even to enter state government office in Komtar tower block.

“We were all banned and blacklisted as rebels. When we could not even enter the state government office, how then we could have rejected the offer.

“We were contemptuously denied the offer as the state government exacted revenge on us for being vocal in standing up for our rights,” Sugumaran told FMT.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has now given a double-storey house each via Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad to the nine tol holders and their nine immediate families.

The houses in Teluk Air Tawar were given on humanitarian grounds, not as compensation.

Reveal exco minutes, CM dared

Lim Guan Eng has been challenged to reveal the exco meeting minutes on Kampung Buah Pala to back his claim that BN is responsible for the matter.

GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been dared to reveal his executive council meeting minutes on Kampung Buah Pala to prove that he did not rob the village land from poor Indians.

The village residents association chairman M Sugumaran called for the exco minutes to be declassified to substantiate Lim’s claim that it was the previous Barisan Nasional, and not the current Pakatan Rakyat, state government that was responsible for the eventual sale and demolition of the heritage Indian village.

“Lim should declassify the exco minutes to prove that he was honest and sincere in our village issue,” Sugumaran told a press conference here today.

Sugumaran’s family was among the nine Kampung Buah Pala residents who were left in a lurch after their village houses were demolished in September 2009.

The nine received their new double-storey house keys from Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on Sunday. The Putrajaya administration also gave out another nine double-storey houses in Taman Sejahtera Indah, Teluk Air Tawar, for the nine’s extended families. The houses were given on humanitarian grounds, and not as compensation.

Last October, 24 other families who agreed to a deal brokered by the Pakatan state government with the developer, were handed over keys to new double-storey houses as part of their compensation.

The deal however excluded the nine families who had not accepted the offer.

Under the compensation package for the 24 families, the developer had agreed to the state’s request to share a portion of the land with the residents by offering the houses, each with a built-up area of 1,400sq ft and a 99-year lease. A community hall and a temple are also being built there for the residents.

Kampung Buah Pala, which was known commonly as Tamil High Chaparral due to the population of ethnic Indians, cattle and other live stocks, was demolished to pave way for a posh condominium project, the Oasis, by Nusmetro Venture (Pg) Sdn Bhd.

During the height of the Kampung Buah Pala fiasco in 2009, Lim’s administration only declassified the previous BN exco minutes on the village issue.

Land alienated to cooperative

The previous minutes revealed that the village land was alienated to the civil service cooperative society –

Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang – for RM3.21 million in 2005 to pave the way for the Oasis project. According the documents, the cooperative had paid RM963,000 as deposit to alienate the land.

The previous government had set a condition for the cooperative to completely settle the compensation issue of the residents to facilitate the transfer of the land title.

The minutes revealed that the remainder RM2.247 million was settled on March 14, 2008 – a week after Lim had become the chief minister.

The land was transferred by the state government to the cooperative on March 27, 19 days after Pakatan captured the Penang government in the March 8 general election. But the transfer was done even though the long-staying villagers’ compensation issue was not settled.

Sugumaran claimed Lim had hatched a fresh land deal with the cooperative after the original BN deal had lapsed.

“Lim should reveal the minutes to prove his innocence,” he dared.

Buah Pala 9 get house keys from Najib

An earlier deal brokered by the state government resulted in 24 other families being given houses in Kampung Buah Pala itself. This nine had rejected that offer.
UPDATED

GEORGE TOWN: Nine Kampung Buah Pala residents, who were left in lurch after their houses were demolished in September 2009, have received their new home keys from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak here today.

In what is being seen as ‘sharp-witted one-upmanship political game’, the Putrajaya administration has given out 18 double-storey houses in Taman Sejahtera Indah, Teluk Air Tawar for the nine and their extended families.

“The houses were given on humanitarian grounds, not as compensation,” said the village residents’ association chairman M Sugumaran.

Najib handed over the keys to the residents, led by their most senior resident, Draviam Arul Pillay, 88, after an hour-long meeting with various Indian NGOs at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

In his speech, Najib recalled that Pakatan leaders, including Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, have made election promises to the village residents that Kampung Buah Pala would be saved and preserved if Pakatan captured Penang.

“Well Pakatan has captured Penang, but the village has been demolished and flattened,” he said.

He added that the nine and their extended families were left empty-handed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration.

Sugumaran, Draviam and other grateful residents thanked Najib for his delivered promise.

Despite receiving the house keys, Sugumaran said the nine will continue with their suit to secure their rightful compensation from the Pakatan state government.

He said the residents have documents to prove that the demolished Kampung Buah Pala land belonged to the villagers vis-a-vis a federal trust set up by former colonial estate owner, Helen Brown, not the state government.

Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd built the double-storey houses worth RM220,000 each in Taman Sejahtera Indah.

Sugumaran thanked Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Md Hashim, Penang Indian Development Organisation (PIDO) chairman M Nganasegaran and Najib’s special assistant in charge of Indian affairs P Ravin for assisting the residents to secure the houses.

Kampung Buah Pala, which was known commonly as Tamil High Chaparral due to population of ethnic Indians, cattle and other live stocks, was demolished to pave way for a posh condominium project, the Oasis, by Nusmetro Venture (Pg) Sdn Bhd.

Compensation package for 24 families

Last October, 24 families who agreed to the deal brokered by the Pakatan state government with the developer, were handed over keys to new double-storey houses as part of their compensation.

The deal however excluded the nine families who had not accepted the offer.

Under the compensation package for the 24 families, the developer had agreed to the state’s request to share a portion of the land with the residents by offering the houses, each with a built-up area of 1,400sq ft and a 99-year lease.

A community hall and a temple are also being built there for the residents.

Ghost of Kg Buah Pala haunting Lim

Has DAP lost its sway over Indians in Penang following its 'mishandling' of the Kampung Buah Pala incident?

GEORGE TOWN: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s act of kindness in offering the nine Kampung Buah Pala residents new houses, after their homes were demolished by the Penang Government, would have a major impact on ethnic Indian electorates in the next general election.

DAP grassroots leaders and political observers here believe that the curse of Kampung Buah Pala will haunt the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat in the the 13th general election.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s claim that he was unaware of the federal government offer of houses for the nine ‘is not funny’.

Many believe Lim was simply unprepared for such a move and was caught off-guard by Najib’s gesture.

The federal government had pulled a massive political coup, in the Kampung Buah Pala incident, and that too from right under Lim’s nose.

The nine residents of the village were left in lurch after the state government demolished their homes in September 2009.

The heartache of the nine residents, who’ve been snubbed by state, is now partially appeased as they have been offered double-storey houses worth RM220,000 each by Syarikat Perumahan Negara (SPN) Bhd in Taman Sejahtera Indah, Teluk Air Tawar.

The news that they will soon sign the sales and purchase agreement with SPN has silenced the Penang Pakatan authorities.

“Najib has a scored an open goal against DAP. Our custodian has gone to sleep. It’s a case of political revenge stalling a rational political thinking,” admitted a DAP branch leader.

‘State government lying’

Seated on a Helen Margaret Brown trust land for over 200 years in Bukit Gelugor, Kampung Buah Pala was famously known as Tamil High Chaparral by locals due to its cowherds, cattle, goats and Tamil traditional way of life.

The nine fought bravely against the odds for nearly five years to safeguard their legitimate rights and preserve their traditional Indian village as state heritage.

In the final months leading to the demolition of the Indian village, the nine led by Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association chairman M Sugumaran, fought like men possessed to save their homes.

Thanks to them 24 households, including those who accepted the original offer of either a flat or cash compensation and who left the village between 2005 and 2007, were given double-storey houses on the same village site.

But the nine ‘bravehearts’ however were denied compensation.

While Lim’s administration has repeatedly claimed that the nine had rejected the offer, many who are well versed with the whole fiasco know the truth to be in the contrary.

Sugumaran himself has openly said they had received no offer of compensation.

“The question of rejecting compensation never arose because we were never offered compensation anyway.

“Would anyone with a sensible mind reject compensation offers after their houses have been brutally demolished?

“The state government is lying,” he said.

‘Why wasn’t Lim as compassionate?’

Rumbling through the grapevine is talk that it was political vengeance that systematically denied the nine of any state compensations.

A Kampung Buah Pala villager claimed a state government leader had told him that the nine would not be given any compensation as punishment for bringing up the village issue to the attention of Unesco’s office in Paris.

Whether or not there is truth in this allegation is left to be seen, but what is known is that Lim’s government is being blamed for the
demolition of the village and the poor handling of the ‘crisis’ regardless of the fact that the 24 temporary occupation licence (TOLl) holders were compensated.

The prevailing question now is why wasn’t Lim as compassionate as Najib in giving the nine their rightful compensation?

A DAP assemblyman, who declined to be named, said Lim’s mishandling of the situation with the nine and the constant media spins during the whole fiasco had caused a shift of Indian voters from Pakatan to BN.

“Lim should have done some damage control by giving the nine their rightful houses.

“As it is now, Najib’s offer of houses for the nine is a huge blow to the DAP and Pakatan, and a slap to Lim’s face.

“The talk on the ground is would Lim have demolish the houses and denied compensation to ethnic Chinese, let alone Malays?” he said.

How did land get transferred?

Meanwhile London-based Hindraf Makkal Sakti chairman P Waythamoorthy has raised several questions in relation to transfer of the Kampung Buah Pala land.

Among the question ares:

i) Why Lim’s government failed to reveal until today how a land under trust was transferred and put under state’s control?

ii). How did Lim’s government officially transferred ownership of the controversial plot of land on March 27, 2008 to the current owner civil servants cooperative society – Koperasi Pegawai Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang?

iii) Why did Lim’s government give life to a dead land deal?

Waythamoorthy also wants the state government to disclose the findings of its investigation into the village land scam.

“Lim should also reveal the court order on the dissolution of the legally-constituted Brown Housing Trust, which encompasses Kampung Buah Pala,” he said.

Lim’s administration has however blamed the previous BN government under former Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon.

Lim even declassified documents containing chronology of the previous BN executive council decisions made on the Kampung Buah Pala land deals.

But strangely enough he has failed until today to declassify his own council’s documents on the subject.

Meanwhile the nine, led by Sugumaran, are bent on securing their rightful compensation from the state government.

They are currently seeking a court declaration on the land’s real status.

‘Penang sabotaging federal housing aid’

Nine kampung Buah Pala residents have accused the Penang state government of lying about offers of compensation.

GEORGE TOWN: The nine Kampung Buah Pala residents, who were left in lurch after their houses were demolished in September 2009, have accused the Penang state government of sabotaging the federal government’s effort to provide them with double-storey homes on the mainland.

The registered village residents association chairman M Sugumaran alleged that certain state government leaders were behind the misinformation disseminated in an article published by The Star on Jan 2.

The article claimed that the Kampung Buah Pala village was demolished by Syarikat Perumahan Negara (SPN) Bhd.

“How could The Star misinform the public? It’s a lie. The whole world knows that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration was responsible for demolition of the Indian heritage village,” said Sugumaran.

Sugumaran has lodged a police report against the article at the Bayan Baru police station today.

He believes there are mischievous hands at work who are sabotaging the federal government’s efforts.

“Definitely there are elements of sabotage involved.

“Certain state government leaders know they can no longer lie to ethnic Indian community.

“So they are resorting to dirty tactics to sabotage the federal housing aid to us,” Sugumaran told a press conference here this afternoon.

Najib gave us houses

Also present were eight other house owners who were all denied compensation by Lim’s administration despite compensating 24 others with double storey homes on the former village site.

Sugumaran claims the Pakatan leaders were envious and unhappy with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s sincere and honest efforts to provide them houses that were denied by Lim’s vindictive misrule.

He accused Lim’s government of being responsible for demolishing homes of the nine temporary occupation licence (Tol) holders and denying them their rightful compensation.

“Pakatan leaders made empty promises to us,” he alleged.

“The state government demolished our houses but did not offer us new homes.

“The question of rejecting compensation never arose because we were never offered compensation anyway.

“Would anyone with a sensible mind reject compensation offers after their houses have been brutally demolished?

“The state government is lying,” chided Sugumaran.

He claimed that thus far their numerous attempts to seek compensation have been futile and that the relevant state leaders have turned deaf to their pleas.

The heartache of the nine residents are now partially relieved as they have accepted offers of double-storey houses worth RM220,000 each by SPN in Taman Sejahtera Indah, Teluk Air Tawar.

It’s learnt that they will be signing the sales and purchase agreement with SPN soon.

MIC did nothing

He hailed Najib for being caring and sympathetic towards their plight by taking up the responsibility to provide them homes on humanitarian grounds, not as compensation.

“He is the real people’s Prime Minister,” he exclaimed.

He also praised Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Md Hashim, Penang Indian Development Organisation (PIDO) chairman M Nganasegaran and Najib’s special assistant in charge of Indian affairs P Ravin for assisting the nine villagers to secure the houses.

In his police report, Sugumaran also accused Bukit Gelugor MIC branch chairman I Muthusamy of falsely claiming credit for the allocation of houses for the nine.

In The Star article, Muthusamy claimed that he had pushed hard for double-storey houses for the nine families for past two years when all the hard work was done by Zahrain and Ngnanasegaran.

“Obviously Muthusamy is lying,” said Sugumaran.

Despite accepting their new homes, he said the nine families would continue with their court battle to secure their rightful compensation from the state government.

He said the nine have documents to prove that the demolished Kampung Buah Pala land belonged to the villagers vis-a-vis the federal government, not the state.

However, he declined to reveal much on the evidence as the matter was pending in court.

“Wait till we reveal it in court,” warned Sugumaran.

Kampung Buah Pala, which was known commonly as Tamil High Chaparral due to population of ethnic Indians, cattle and other live stocks, was demolished to pave way for a posh condominium project, the Oasis, by Nusmetro Venture (Pg) Sdn Bhd.

The project is now almost completed.

Kg Buah Pala: Pagar makan padi

Developer Kampung Buah Pala di Pulau Pinang untung berbilion.

“Yang menjadi mangsa ialah orang kampung.” — M. Sugumaran, wakil penduduk Kampung Buah Pala

Kg Buah Pala dirobohkan.--gambar The Star

“Apa yang kami tidak faham ialah mengapa kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat ini, dia bukan nak selamat kampung [sebaliknya] nak roboh kampung. Bila di bawah pimpinan Barisan Nasional, 30 tahun kami dok bincang, bincang, bincang 30 tahun tapi tak roboh le.” [Sugumaran, YouTube]

Penghuni Kg Buah Pala amat malang kerana dari mulut harimau masuk ke mulut buaya.

Saya pernah dikhabarkan bahawa Hindraf gagal juga dalam usaha mereka untuk mengadakan perjumpaan dengan Lim Guan Eng supaya mencari penyelesaian yang baik kepada isu.

Hindraf difahamkan Guan Eng tidak ada minat untuk melayan sebuah organisasi yang membela kelompok daif kaum India kerana sebagai seorang ‘Malaysian First’, ketua menteri merangkap setiausaha agung DAP itu menganggap Hindraf bersifat rasis.

(Kuali mengata cerek hitam, Guan Eng nampaknya lupa akan “Malaysian agenda” yang diuar-uarkan partinya - screenshot di bawah - apabila dia mengkritik Johortatkala berada di Singapura.)

Petikan Malaysiakini (14 April 2010)

Kawan-kawan Hindraf saya juga berkata sepanjang saga kampung gembala lembu itu meleret, Guan Eng enggan turun ke padang untuk bersua dengan penduduk kampung kaum India yang (bukan Kristian dan bukan golongan profesional) terlibat.

Namun semalam ketika majlis penyerahan kunci dilangsungkan di tapak Kg Buah Pala (yang dirobohkan dua tahun lepas), Guan Eng dengan muka tebal sekali muncul untuk mengambil kesempatan ‘foto op’ (peluang bergambar) demi meraih publisiti murahan.

P. Uthayakumar:

“Saya berasa amat sedih sekali sebab pada hari ini saya terpaksa mengambil ‘banner’ untuk menyatakan bahawa kami bantah salah guna kuasa oleh ketua menteri Pulau Pinang ini.” [YouTube, 3:06]

“Saya masih ingat lebih kurang 20 tahun dahulu semasa berlaku isu Kampung Khoo Kongsi di Penang, Lim Guan Eng, Lim Kit Siang, DAP bertungkus-lumus bermati-matian untuk menjaga kepentingan kampung Cina di Khoo Kongsi.

“Tetapi bila mangsanya ialah orang-orang India, a different set of rules applies,” kata Uthaya.

Kg Buah Pala – yang tanahnya diamanahkan keluarga peladang Brown kepada buruh India mereka – telah menjadi tempat kediaman cucu-cicit pekerja-pekerja India itu selama lebih 110 tahun … sehinggalah pemaju Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd berjaya mengambil alih hakmilik selepas berlakunya pengkhianatan oleh ketua-ketua DAP Pulau Pinang.

9 keluarga hilang segala-galanya

Sebanyak 24 keluarga telah menerima kunci rumah baru masing-masing sementara sembilan lagi buah keluarga yang diusir dari kampung itu tidak mendapat apa-apa setelah menolak pampasan tunai RM125,000 yang ditawarkan oleh pengarah eksekutif Nusmetro, Gary Ho.

Pekerja India di Ladang Buah Pala, P. Pinang, c.1850. Lukisan cat air/Joliffe

Semalam juga seorang pemimpin kanan DAP, iaitu Karpal Singh, pada akhirnya terpaksa membuat pengakuan bahawa Pakatan gagal menunaikan janji-janji yang ditabur mereka kepada penduduk kampung itu.

Karpal sendiri yang mengaku juga bahawa pemaju tanah Nusmetro akan mengaut keuntungan berbilion ringgit dari projek ini.

Mengikut laporan Malaysiakini, Karpal telah memberi sebagai alasannya bahawa ketua menteri boleh dipenjarakan jika dia ingkar terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Persekutuan pada 24 Jun 2009 yang memenangkan Nusmetro.

Karpal telah dipetik sebagai berkata dalam ucapannya:

“Ramai yang bertanya, apa yang berlaku kepada janji-janji? Macam mana dengan janji Lim [Guan Eng] yang berkata kami akan mempertahankan kampung itu? Betul, kami semua berkata begitu.”

“[Namun] jika kami hina mahkamah bukan sahaja kami akan diheret ke penjara … tetapi kerajaan negeri juga boleh dilucutkan kuasa.”

DAP kerap menyalahkan kerajaan Barisan Nasional pra-2008. Itu hanya cerita mudah.

Penjelasan rumit yang diberitahu penduduk kampung kepada aktivis adalah lain.

DAP yang menggali kubur

“Tanah [Kg Buah Pala] yang diberimilik ini [kepada penduduk India oleh keluarga Brown] tidak boleh dipindahmilik, cagar, pajak, pajakan kecil atau sebarang bentuk urusniaga tanpa kebenaran bertulis daripada pihak berkuasa negeri,” kata A. Thiruvengadam.

Dalam klip YouTube, Bhg 1-4, Thiruvengadam seorang bekas councilor Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) menceritakan penyelewengan yang berlaku di mana golongan penduduk kampung penternak lembu susu tersebut ditipu.

Hujah Thiruvengadam ialah kerajaan negeri mempunyai kuasa dan kata pemutus atas urusan Kg Buah Pala. [Nota: Catatan minit-minit exco mengenai Kg Buah Pala masih belum didedahkan kepada umum. Ke mana perginya CAT kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang?]

Akan tetapi sepertimana didakwa oleh Sugumaran (wakil penduduk Kg Buah Pala) dan pihak-pihak sukarelawan lain yang prihatin dengan nasib golongan India kurang berpendidikan itu, rupa-rupanya Guan Eng dari awal-awal lagi sudah menetapkan bagi pemaju Nusmetro meneruskan projek pembinaan tersebut.

Memanglah, Guan Eng kan merupakan exco Pulau Pinang yang memegang ‘portfolio tanah‘.

(Baca sini tentang projek-projek perumahan di Pulau Pinang yang bak cendawan tumbuh lepas hujan / selepas Mac 2008.)

Tidak berhati perut

Ramai para penyokong Guan Eng berkata “padan muka” sembilan keluarga India tersebut yang kehilangan tempat tinggal.

Screenshot komen-komen pembaca Malaysiakini ini adalah tipikal kepada penghinaan yang sering dicurahkan ke atas penduduk Kg Buah Pala “bodoh” oleh puak DAP yang cerdik-pandai.

Bagaimana acuan begitulah kuihnya.

KISAH LATAR

Thiruvengadam mendakwa bahawa Nusmetro sudahpun menjual condo kepada para pembeli serta menandatangani perjanjian jual-beli (S&P) dengan mereka dua bulan sebelum pemaju itu berjaya memperolehi surat hakmilik tanah.

Ex-MPPJ Councilor Mr. A. Thiruvengadam

(1)

“How could the developer Nusmetro caveat this piece of Buah Pala land to this company’s name when the condition [i.e. cannot be transferred, mortgaged, pawned, sublet, or used as a business instrument without getting written consent from the state authority/exco] on the land title is still there?”

YouTube: Chronology of Buah Pala Land Scam, Part 1

(2)

“The lawyers [consulted] are telling that the state government under the leadership of Lim Guan Eng can still save this piece of land because the state authority has got special power by certain clauses in the law.”

“If the state government itself is making a report to MACC on this particular land transaction, it shows that there is some basic of fraud in the land transaction. …Why did this new government complete the transaction? This new government is the one which has issued the land title. WHY?“

“If fraud is proven, the state government can withdraw the land title.”

[Nota: Laporan kepada SPRM dibuat oleh Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang (I) dan (II) Mansor Othman dan P. Ramasamy pada 13 Julai 2009.]

YouTube: Chronology of Buah Pala Land Scam, Part 2

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“Let me tell you this. Lim Guan Eng is the main culprit in announcing all this kind of news and this news [is] being carried in the media that can be the cause to reduce public support for these villagers.”

YouTube: Chronology of Buah Pala Land Scam, Part 3

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“Imagine this kampung is a Chinese kampung. … Do you think Lim Guan Eng would act like this?”

“How can a chief minister, how can a state government, force the people to go into illegal transaction to accept the offer by this developer and leave the kampung?”

Karpal: CM could've been jailed over Kg Buah Pala

Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh said today that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng could have been jailed if he defied the Federal Court decision for the residents to vacate the village in 2009.

The Federal Court in Aug, 2009, stood by its June 24 decision that the Kg Buah Pala residents must vacate their homes and hand over the property to the developer who had obtained approval to redevelop the area.

Due to this decision, Karpal admitted that Pakatan Rakyat was unable to fulfil the promises made to the villagers, although its leaders - including opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim - had said they would defend the village at all cost.

"Many are asking, what happened to the promises? What about Lim saying we will defend the village to the last? Yes, all of us said so," said the veteran lawyer.

" (But) What alternative did the chief minister have here, short of defying the court order? As elected representative of the people, we have to obey the decision of the court, whether we like it or not," said the DAP national chairperson.

"Contempt of court is this: you are not only dragged to jail until you purge your contempt and apologise, but the state government could have been dismissed" he added during his speech at a ceremony to hand over keys to former residents of Kg Buah Pala in Penang today.

About 100 attended the ceremony organised by Nusmetro Sdn Bhd, where Lim, Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy and Batu Maung assemblyperson Abdul Malik Abul Kassim were also present.

Twenty-four families were issued the houses after a bitter tussle with the state government and developer to maintain the village, popularly known as Penang High Chapparal.

Nine families - led by Kg Buah Pala Resident Association chairperson M Sugumaran (far right, in photo) - have declined to accept the houses, claiming the Pakatan government had not provided the residents a proper compensation package.

Sugumaran also alleged that Karpal was more interested in defending Anwar with his Sodomy II trial in Kuala Lumpur than helping the villagers.

Karpal, however, recounted the detention of Pakatan leaders, including Lim, for the welfare of the common people.

"It is not that we did not want to fulfil our promises, but were bound by the court decision" he reiterated to the 100-strong crowd who attended the ceremony today.

Karpal said the case was not filed in the Penang High Court by Pakatan lawyers, as the residents did not appoint them for the matter.

However, Pakatan still did its best and managed to get 24 units for the residents, notwithstanding the nine families who had declined to accept the offer, said Karpal.

Lamenting that the developer would be making billions of ringgit out of this project, Karpal said no developer should be allowed to make that much out of the people.

"It was the best bargain that we could get from the developer," he said.

"It is not the Pakatan government which brought this upon the residents, the BN did," he added.

The nine families led by Sugumaran, however, have publicly defied the government, said Karpal.

"No government worth its salt would want to kneel down and bow to ransom by anyone, developer or otherwise. We would lose our dignity and credibility," he said.

Karpal also rubbished claims by representatives of the nine families that he was more interested in defending Anwar Ibrahim as the he was earning a large amount of money as the latter's defense counsel.

Karpal said he wanted to put on record that he was not earning a single cent from Anwar, although he has defended the case for two years

"I want to make it clear to Sugumaran to be careful, unless you want to make me ensure that you answer to every court of law for your conduct," he warned.

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.

No Deepavali cheer for nine Kg Buah Pala families

The 24 families who were evicted from their homes in 2009 to pave the way for a housing project in Kampung Buah Pala would be delighted to receive an early Deepavali gift this Sunday.

It is learnt that the families, who have been waiting for this moment for months, would finally get the keys to their compensation units, located on a piece of land once known as “the last remaining Indian traditional village”.

An official ceremony for the handing-over of the keys is planned at 10am, and would be attended by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, his deputy P Ramasamy and Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer.

It is learnt that the Penang Municipal Council had been rushed to issue the occupying certificates for the homes recently so that the keys could be handed over to the residents before Deepavali, which falls on Oct 26.

The houses, which have a built up area of 1,400 sq ft and land size of 20ft by 60ft, were supposed to be ready by August, but were delayed due to technical problems during construction.

It is learnt that the residents are expected to pay about RM200 each for the ceremony, and purchase three garlands of flowers each for the trio as a sign of gratitude for the homes.

Ramasamy, who is state executive council member for economic planning, education, human resources, science, technology and innovation, has denied that residents were asked to make the said payment.

Nine families feel sore

However, this happy development would not be shared by the nine ‘activists’ families who have fought long and hard since 2008 for a proper compensation package for the Kampung Buah Pala folk.

Despite feeling sore about not being able to share the cheer, the activists felt thankful that at least their village friends can now own a double-storey terrace house worth RM500,000 on prime land.

When contacted, Kampung Buah Pala residents association chairperson M Sugumaran said the event this weekend has been hastened due to the coming polls, which may be called as early as next month or in the first quarter of next year.

He said although the effort of the nine families have been futile, the activists felt happy that their village friends now have a roof over their heads.

He added that if not for the action of the nine,  no families would have been able to obtain a proper compensation package from the developer, Nusmetro Venture Sdn Bhd.

He noted that since the Buah Pala episode exploded in 2009, the state now deals with eviction cases in a much better manner, citing the latest residents’ protest in Bayan Bay, where Lim held back a potential reclamation exercise.

Sugumaran, who now works in Ipoh, said none of the activist-families would be showing their faces at this Sunday’s event.

“But we are waiting for the election to come. We will expose the truth of what the state government has done to us, the people must know about it,” he told Malaysiakini.

“We are truly disappointed because we thought the Pakatan government would be able to help us, but we are wrong. BN was no better,so we will whack both sides during the polls,” he warned.

Election campaign to expose truth

Sugumaran said he and the other activists would not be campaigning for another political party but will stand as NGOs in their own right to reveal the facts behind the controversial land deal and eviction case.

He also questioned why Bukit Gelugor MP and DAP national chief Karpal Singh has not made any effort to help the embattled families.

“He is our MP but all he does is fight for (opposition leader) Anwar Ibrahim. He does it all for money,” lamented Sugumaran.

More than 65 families have been living in the village, known as the ‘Tamil High Chapparal’, for five generations since about 200 years ago.

However, the villagers were ordered to depart before Aug 3, 2009, following the sale of the 2.6ha land by the previous BN government to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd, which then appointed Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd to develop the land.

According to records, BN had initiated the sale of the land but the confirmation letter on the land ownership was issued by the present state government led by Lim on March 27, 2008.

Lim has denied ever evicting anyone from Kampung Buah Pala and Kampung Pokok Asam during Pakatan’s leadership in Penang, despite court orders.

In the Kampung Buah Pala case, the residents have all the while been depending on temporary occupation licences and the land was seized by the BN government for private projects, he added.

In May, Ramasamy expressed sympathy for the nine families but said his office had given them four months to come around and accept the deal, the best the developer could offer.

Since they refused, he claimed, the houses were later given to villagers who had agreed to the original compensation package.

‘State government vengeful’

Meanwhile, KBP residents association deputy secretary Thamaraj Chandran said that the state had ignored their pleas and had prevented the families from visiting Lim or Ramasamy at their offices in Komtar.

He said he felt that the state was “vengeful” of their actions and fighting spirit by not providing them the same compensation package as the other families.

He added they had been taught a hard lesson for disobeying state leaders, whom they had once backed strongly, contributing to the former’s victory in Penang in the 2008 election.

“But these leaders have been blaming everyone - the BN and the developer - except themselves for our housing woes,” said Thamaraj.

Thamaraj and his friends, who live scattered across the Island and mainland, will also not show up at the Sunday event, saying “we are not beggars”.

“To be honest, this is how we feel but we also know that someday, everyone would know the true story of how they have manipulated the situation and cheated us,” he added.

“They have stolen everything from us, taken our dignity and pride. We thought the new government (Pakatan) would help us, especially after we saw how they preached with their help the poor and anti-capitalist slogans,” he stressed.

“But in the end, when we fought for the villagers and demanded our rights, we suffered and are now without homes,” he decried.

Kampung Buah Pala returns to haunt

A banner put up during the Thaipusam festival has irked nine former residents, who claim to have been shortchanged by the state government.

GEORGE TOWN: Some issues just refuse to die, and the now extinct Kampung Buah Pala is one such case.
Despite the Pakatan Rakyat state government’s attempts to lay the ghost to rest, the demolition of the Indian village two years ago continues to haunt Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration.

A political banner put up during last week’s Thaipusam festival claiming that Lim had delivered his promise to the village folk had irked nine ex-residents.

Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association chairman M Sugumaran called it a misrepresentation of facts.
“The banner implied that all affected residents have been compensated. Regretfully, nine more families are still waiting for compensation,” he told reporters.

The nine included two cowherds who were also seeking alternative land to breed their cattle.

“Our ranches were demolished ruthlessly by the developer two years ago. But until today, the state government refuses to give us alternative land to rear our cows, which are sacred to us,” said cowherd K Sivanantham, 41.

He said the state land office once offered a swamp-like waterlogged land near the Kuala Sungai Pinang coastal area in the Southwest district.

“Any cowherd will know that one cannot breed cows in a wet area. It has to be dry land,” he said.
Sugumaran blasted the state government for still refusing to compensate the nine “merely because they stood
up to defend their  rights”.

“Where are the houses for the nine? Why are we not compensated?” he asked.

Court hearing next week


The banner presumably was put up by former villagers thanking the Pakatan government for compensating them with double-storey houses.

It featured portraits of Lim, Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, and photographs of the ongoing construction of the posh Oasis condominium project on the land.
The banner was put up near the DAP thaneer panthal (refeshment shed), located outside party national chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh’s house in Jalan Utama, Waterfall.

The 200-year-old Kampung Buah Pala was demolished in September 2009 to make way for the Oasis, undertaken by landowner Penang Civil Servant Cooperative Society and developer Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd.

The 6.5-acre plot was sold to the cooperative for only RM3.21 million.

The village was once known to the locals, especially Indians, as the Tamil High Chaparral due to its high population of Indian cowherds and livestock as well as unique cultural features and festivities.

Originally, some 33 families lived in the village when the Oasis project was hatched by the previous Barisan Nasional state administration some six years ago.


However, the Gerakan-led state government inserted a clause to compel the developers to settle the compensation issue with the villagers first before the land title could be transferred.

Nine families moved out from the village some six years ago after agreeing to the original compensation package offered by Nusmetro.

The package was either a RM75,000 worth 800 sq ft low medium flat unit in the Oasis or cash.
But 24 others stayed put to fight for the land, which they claimed was given to their ancestors under trust by their colonial plantation master, the Brown Family.

When the village was demolished, the Pakatan government agreed to compensate the families with a double-storey house each, to be built on a 1.5-acre plot of land at the project site.

However, nine out of the 24 families did not get the house.

The houses were instead given to villagers who had already left after agreeing with the original compensation package.

According to the official version, the nine families failed to ink the documents for the houses in time.
However, the deprived nine pinned the blame on Lim and his personal vendetta.

The nine families had already initiated court action seeking a full trial over the Kampung Buah Pala land status.
They argued that since the land was under a federal trust, the state government had no right to transfer the land to a private developer.

Moreover, there had been no documented evidence to show that the federal government had ever transferred the land title to the Penang government, read the affidavit.

The case is up for hearing at the High Court next Monday.

Dalbinder: Teng must go

The residents of KBP  manipulated by certain irresponsible parties by sweet talks. The residents claimed some personals played into the hands of the land robbers who want to failed the issue for their interest, KBP residents houses demolished and some residents are not compensate by the local DAP government. One of those who made the failure of KBP is Dalbinder in the video below.

In Memoriam: Kg Buah Pala the last Indian traditional village in Penang demolished. Kapitan Lim Guan Eng not forgiven nor forgotten.

  One year has passed today since Kg Buah Pala, the last traditional Indian village in Penang was demolished, of all dates 16/9/09, ie Malaysia Day, but the promised double storey houses for all the villagers community hall and a Hindu temple by Towkay Kapitan Lim Guan Eng and who got his DCM II Indian mandore to repeat it over and over again, using the Tamil dailies, remains a false promise, as it was never intended to be fulfilled in the first place.
To add insult to injury this towkay a few months later even demolished the cattle sheds of the said Indian victims which was even outside the land in the Court Order. Lim Guan Eng obviously sided with the Chinese capitalist developer and the Malay Koperasi in the interest of his pocket and the DAP coffers. But never mind the poor Indians kena nyaya.
Kg Buah Pala is a unique case where a traditional Indian village was handed over to a Malay koperasi, who then handed it over to a Chinese developer for a share of profits arrangements.
DAP and Lim Guan Eng will be remembered in the 2012/2013 General Elections.
Every dog has it’s day. So too does Hindraf and the victims of Kg Buah Pala.
Rights not Mercy.
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice