THE Penang state government will make an application to the courts to use Section 116 (1)(D) of the National Land Code to prevent developers from demolishing the houses of villagers in Kampung Buah Pala here, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
He said under the section anyone given land had to have written permission from the state government before buildings on the land can be demolished.
"As the Federal Court has made a decision on the matter, we have to send a an application letter to the court to use the section concerned. We will refer to the Land and Mines Office before sending the letter," Lim told reporters at the Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar) here today.
He said that the state government had not issued any letter that allowed the villagers houses to be demolished.
Lim said with the action to be taken he hoped the court would put on hold the Federal Court's ruling that had rejected the villagers application to remain in the area where they had lived for a long time.
"Even though there is giving of ownership, it is only for vacating and does not include demolition of buildings as that needs permission from the authorities," he said.
Lim said the state government offered compensation of RM200,000 to each family if they agreed to vacate the area.
"That allocation would be asked from the federal government as the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is the cause of this problem.
"If there are residents who refuse the offer, we cannot do anything as the state government cannot afford to buy the land," he said.
Lim also voiced regret that he could not meet the villagers as scheduled at 11.30am as the villagers did not agree to the conditions set.
"I regret not being able to meet the villagers and have a heart-to-heart talk. It is difficult to find a resolution if we cannot meet face to face with the residents. Actually today (the meeting) would have been meaningful and effective," he said. Earlier, 20 villagers gathered at Komtar since 10.45am to meet Lim but they changed their mind when they were not allowed to bring along their lawyers for the meeting.
The villagers then left Komtar about two hours later.
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Wednesday July 8, 2009
Kg Buah Pala dispute: Land deal inked after March 8
The StarGEORGE TOWN: The land deal between the state government and Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang, which is at the heart of the Kampung Buah Pala dispute, was signed on March 26 last year, after Pakatan Rakyat had taken power, villagers said.
Representative C. Tharmaraj said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should know that the land transaction was sealed when he was in control of the state government.
He said the government should stop shoving its responsibilities to the previous state administration and drag Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak into the picture.
“He should stop playing the blame game. The villagers are more interested in knowing how the land transaction took place,” he said yesterday.
Lim had appealed to the Federal Government to intervene to resolve the issue.
Najib, however, said that the Government could not interfere because land matters were under the purview of the state governments.
Tharmaraj said he was told that the land deal could not be pushed through if the villagers, who have been occupying the land which had been placed under housing trust in 1953, were not properly compensated.
He said that as Kampung Buah Pala was a trust land, the state had a responsibility to satisfy the beneficiaries of the trust and not simply ask the residents to vacate.
“All of us have not received any compensation. As such, the transaction should be declared null and void,” he said.
He added that this would be raised when a meeting between the villagers and Lim today.
He said Lim should reveal all the documents pertaining to the land deal since he practised competency, accountability and transparency.
On May 11, the Court of Appeal overturned a 2008 High Court decision in favour of the residents and gave the landowner, Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan, and developer Nusmetro Ventures vacant possession of the land.
The residents have to vacate the land by Aug 3.
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