There’s still quite a bit of unfinished business in this saga.
Why is it so important? First, land which is now said to be worth RM80-100 per sq ft was alienated to the Koperasi for RM10psf or RM3.2 million by the previous BN administration. Millions of ringgit that could have gone to the people of Penang were effectively handed over on a silver platter to the Koperasi-Nusmetro in exchange for peanuts. The big issue is, could the Pakatan state government have stopped the deal in its tracks?
Was the new state government in Penang unaware of the Kg Buah Pala crisis during the crucial period from when they came into power on 8 March 2009 until the land transfer was effected on 27 March 2008? Let’s zoom in on this period.
March 2008
8 – Opposition parties sweep to power in Penang.
13 – Buah Pala villagers meet the new Penang Chief Minister and inform him about their situation.
14 – But the very next day, the state government accepts final payment of RM2,247,000* for the Buah Pala land, nearly a year after the last payment, and almost 10 months after the Land Office asked for final payment.
15 – The villagers are tipped off that final payment has been made.
16 – The villagers alert their lawyer that final payment has been made.
17 (or thereabouts) – Their lawyer meets a senior DAP national leader.
21 – The villagers meet the Penang Chief Minister again. They alert the state government that final payment was made and are informed that a panel of inquiry would be set up to look into such dubious deals. They are given assurances and they come away from both meetings feeling euphoric.
22 – Penang state government announces a special panel to investigate land scams comprising deputy chief minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, deputy CM II Dr P Ramasamy and exco member Phee Boon Poh.
27 – The Land Office registers the transfer of Buah Pala land to the Koperasi giving it a temporary title, which prohibits transactions with third parties.* First payment of RM642,000 made on 16 March 2006, second payment of RM321,000 on 22 March 2007
The state government says by the time it took over, it was a done deal and it couldn’t do much. Really?
It is obvious the state government was already aware of the deal in March 2008. Did it try to delay the final land transfer? After all, the issue of compensation to the villagers had not been settled and the Koperasi had received a RM3 million discount mainly for this purpose. Moreover, two high-level state investigative panels were set up to probe the deal, one in March 2008 to probe land scams in general and the second one this year to probe the Buah Pala case. What are the outcomes of those investigations? Had the investigative committees done their work, they might have found out that the land was not the Penang state government’s to sell, as the High Court later indicated. In which case, could the deal have been aborted – before the transfer of ownership was registered with the Land Office – on the grounds that the BN exco’s approval was null and void?
And did the last payment (on 14 March 2008) require exco approval – as some have claimed – as it was received so late? A full disclosure of the Pakatan state government’s exco minutes would help to clarify some of these lingering questions. In the interests of transparency, that’s the least the administration could do.
i just love Malaysians, reminds me of Flinstones. the juxtaposition that we will always take to appease our own individual desire.
Good luck people, no wonder BN was able to dictate for all these years and the new found freedom is the same but with a change of authority.
Nothing changes if we cannot sacrifice for the community but a premediated individual following against the truth and realty for the society in a collective basis.
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“LGE should do this …. LGE should do that. Reminds me how much I hate back seat drivers.”
Hahahaha…..100% Agreed!
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Why is it that everytime Anil brings up KBP, the DAP cyber troopers become rabid. What is so wrong with the topic that Anil had initiated. I am 100% for minutes of exco meetings whether BN or Pakatan to be made public. This should be adopted as a practice for all meetings and published for Rakyat’s viewing on the state websites after the meetings.
It will ensure that the Rakyat is always aware of the going-ons and as a check and balance mechanism. Why do we continue to abdicate our right to information/actions that affect us. We should remember we are the boss and our loyalty is to Malaysia and not to some politicians. Of course, the politicians will come up with many excuses to continue to classify exco minutes as confidential irrespective BN or Pakatan. So brothers and sister, lets keep our party allegiance aside and demand to know what goes on behind the closed doors instead of going at each other. we should insist for transparency and integrity. We are already paying heavily for some of the ‘bad’ decisions.
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Harry is right, even the past minutes of the previous government.
The government should be transparent, from opposition party or governing party.
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Folks…pls allow me to refresh our collective memory…this time a report from MalaysiaKini…this just a liitle over a year ago but it feels like centuries.
==================================================
Penang folk get access to gov’t documents
Athi Veeranggan | Jun 11, 08 4:32pm http://www.malaysiakini.com
In line with the its tag line espousing competency, accountability and transparency, the Penang government will open its doors for the public, especially the media, to have free access to information on government decisions, materials and documents, so long they do not fall under the ‘private and confidential’ sphere.
MCPX
Under the new policy, government departments would also be entrusted to provide this information to public.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the new policy was a step forward to make the state government more accountable and transparent to the public, thus providing an effective a check and balance on the government’s competency.
lim guan eng interview 290408 02″It’s a beginning of a new era for freedom of information,” he told newsmen at his Komtar office today.
He said government departments would be allowed to provide information directly to the public and media if state executive councillors were not available for the purpose.
A three-man task force headed by state executive councillor Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim will study and re-classify all state government decisions, materials and documents deemed not sensitive before allowing free public access to them.
Another state executive councillor, Wong Hon Wai, and a representative from the state secretariat are the other two persons on the task force.
This unprecedented state government initiative is seen as an attempt to move away from the ghost of the previous administration led by Gerakan acting president Koh Tsu Koon who often practiced a ‘closed door’ policy on information.
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K, click Reply button to reply directly to comment author is easy for us to follow your long and GOOD arguments.
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Thanks for the tips bro !
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Ong Eu Soon
Good catch !
What is the Cheap Minister is so afraid of ? Isnt he is the dude who promised to introduce the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to declassify govt documents ?
The unwillingness and even rabid hostility of the DAP Cybertroopers toward any form of criticism of their Great Leader is indeed scary. Are we moving from a Social Democracy to Capitalist Dictatorship in Penang ?
This reminds of the Bush’s neo-cons and their mantra of “either you are with us or you are against us”.
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Reading the comments, there are obviously people like K and nkkhoo who are BN supporters using KBP as a platform to bash PR and LGE. Their motive is not social justice, it’s political.
Anil should be aware if he keeps giving them a platform his blog will lose whatever reputation and impartiality it has gained so far.
The KBP affair is already over. Let it rest. Some of the residents are satisfied with the compensation they got. That alone is enough to show that no clear injustice was committed. It’s a complicated issue and a grey area. Why keep flogging a dead horse? We can argue till the cows come home and there will be no agreement.
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Ken, I think that was an unfair dig at Anil. Unlike your much deluded “either-or” thinking there are those who believe that there is still the side of truth and justice without any political affiliations.
Impartiality dictates that you look at ALL THE FACTS and not just those that support your position or the position of your great leader. Look at wong ka wai. He was thumping his chest about how he based his conclusions on facts and when I presented all the facts he had refused to look at or consider he then accused me of twisted thinking duh !!!
There are just far too many unanswered questions. As long as LGE continue to fossilise his position the harder it would be for him.
I made an observation in one of the blogs that he will pay a very high price for his folly. The longer he delayed his acknowledgement of his mistake the heavier would be the price. At that time the BN component parties were all so quiet. Not even a pipsqueak. It looked as if they were giving LGE enough rope to hang himself. When all the houses were demolished Gerakan went into action.
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Great Observation !
LGE has painted himself to a corner by steadfastly employing a policy of “Deny and Blame”.
His arrogance and demonising of the villagers in the KBP case is really miles away from the humble person who took oath as the CM on 9/3/08.
LGE has transformed like the Incredible Hulk from a social democrat to a Fascist Capitalist Dictator.
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Read my blog (www.nkkhoo.com) to see I belongs to what supporters.
I’m a justice supporter.
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“LGE should do this …. LGE should do that. Reminds me how much I hate back seat drivers.”
This is so far the best comment out there. can’t be more agree….
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anil, get koh tsu koon to release bn exco minutes from 2002. no point pressing dap alone.
where is bn minutes? burnt after ge2008?
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Fatimah and Harry, what a breath of fresh air from both of you.
From some of the comments above, politicians are untouchables. Our only right to a voice comes once every five years.
In between, we should be like school children and not question the leaders. BN has done well in instilling the doctrine if you’re not for us, you’re against us.
And both sides of the divide want to lure back our talents. To this kind of political immaturity? Good luck.
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Tgo all those who criticise LGE on KBP especially the Indians: Face one very glaring fact: The future of Indians in this country lies in joining forces with DAP. Look around and you will see Indians NO ONE from the Indian community capable of leading the Indians out of their problems.. Look at Singapore and Indians have thrived there and you can expect the same from DAP. Forget Hindraf, Samy Vellu, Makkal Sakti or IPF – the hope of Indians lies with DAP and its not even PR….
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Bigjoe
I am sorry but you must be out of your mind for suggesting the future of Indians lies with a … chauvinist party like DAP (Developers Are our Partners).
… Look at Prof Rama, (few) in Penang … respect him despite being the DCM2. Look at other Indians leaders of DAP, they (avoid) speaking out on KBP…
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Why Gerakan/MCA/UMNO leaders do not speak out but let all those mai chai do the running job too? Surprise when in opposition, opposition leaders will make a lot of noise but in Gerakan, it is the running mah chai and not the leaders. Guess the leaders dare not to say anything because they are the ones who started the whole affair but politically they encourage (others to make noise). (Those who make the most noise) hopefully get noticed and become someone in the party
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“In between, we should be like school children and not question the leaders.”
School children do have a tendency to shout and scream repeatedly when they don’t get what they want. Anil has made his point which many agrees to (including me) but there are more pressing issues out there to focus on.
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anil, i think state in the midst enacting heritage bill now.
we have same problem with kg tokong. dont want heritage site at current kpg, we want at the reclaim area, making kpg more in order.
you see, tis project only provide to 24people w rm500k value house if i m not mistaken, others get lower rate houses, but remaining kicked out, got to rent cheaply at seberang perai, that how they kick away poor rakyat, coincidentally malays. currently, uda and the mega super rich investors do not share reclaim land for heritage, for them reclaim land is fit for super rich only.
koh tsu koon time 19 years no such bill, i think, plus chong eu’s time. no wonder bee-end cant produce their minutes but want cm dap instead.
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Fatimah Zuhri dan kawan-kawan seperjuangan mu di BN,
Sebenarnya, bukannya I marah kat Anil — cuma fed up aje lah dengan perangai si Anil ini. Suka-suka dia mensensasikan isu KBP, lepas itu diam sejenak. Bila sudah cukup cool, mulalah dia tarik balik isu naik ke permukaan. Bukannya dia tak tahu isu ini memang merumitkan, penuh emosi dan entah apa lagi, tapi nak jugak si Anil mulakan riak.
That’s why I nak tanya dia ‘Just what exactly do you want to see in CONCLUSION from KBP and LGE?’.
You want LGE to reveal minutes? Boleh, tapi dia enggan. Macam si Ong Eng Soon, apec, K, nkkhoo and et al yang suka sangat tunjuk betapa pandainya mereka dalam perihal undang-undang dan perlembagaan negeri — they do so love to flaunt that they know more than LGE when they asked “why didn’t LGE do this? didn’t do that?”.
Okay, so he did or didn’t exactly take those actions that you guys highlighted. What next? What else do you want to assault him with? Castigate him via this blog? Boleh, teruskan hentam dia kopi kow-kow sampai ke bulan. But once done, then let us STOP with this KBP issue already, for crying out loud!
You have achieved your aim of letting him know he’s not fully into CAT,…he’s a ….(isikan penuh sesuka hati)…. . You want the final word in? Go ahead.
But when the final word has been said, Anil just has to let go of KBP. Otherwise Ong Eng Soon will have no more NLC recommendations to bring up to our attention anymore!
The trouble is, Anil just doesn’t want to let go. This puzzles me. Kenapa attach sangat dengan KBP ni??? Only he can answer me.
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If DAP cybertroopers think the issue of KBP has been closed with the destruction of the village, then they are sadly and tragically mistaken. I am sure that just like Khir Toyo, LGE will pay a very heavy political price for this cruel … act. We will never allow all right thinking Malaysians to forget this black mark in Penang’s history. KBP will live forever.
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How can anyone respect a CM who … caught misleading …? See below…I am ashamed to be a Penangite….
====================================================
‘No’ to declassifying Buah Pala minutes: Guan Eng
By ANDREA FILMER and DAVID TAN
north@thestar.com.my
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has admitted there are Pakatan Rakyat state executive minutes regarding Kampung Buah Pala, but says they will not be declassified.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Lim said he had “refreshed his memory” by going through the minutes of all executive council meetings he had chaired.
“I have refreshed my memory by looking at the minutes of all exco meetings I chaired which discussed Kampung Buah Pala.
“The minutes reaffirm that the present state government has not given any approval to alienate the land to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang Bhd or development approvals to the developer, or issued eviction orders against the residents,” Lim said.
“During the Pakatan exco meetings on Kampung Buah Pala, the only conclusion reached was that nothing could be done because the Barisan Nasional government had signed away all the residents’ rights.
“Therefore, there is no reason to declassify the Pakatan minutes when no approvals to the cooperative and developer were given by Pakatan,” he added.
He said the transfer of the Kampung Buah Pala land on March 27, 2008 was consequential after Barisan had given approvals to the developer and cooperative to develop the land.
Lim’s stand on declassifying the exco minutes, however, differed from statements he gave on Monday when he said there were no minutes on the Kampung Buah Pala issue.
“When we took over the state government last year, there was nothing left to approve or any document to sign pertaining to the issue.
“Thus, nothing pertaining to the Kampung Buah Pala land issue was said at the meetings. All the necessary details had been taken care of by the previous state administration.
“So what is there to declassify? Do you expect me to declassify a blank piece of paper?” he had said when speaking to reporters after opening Inari Technology Sdn Bhd’s new RM40mil facility at the Bayan Lepas Industrial Estate.
Kampung Buah Pala was demolished on Sept 14 by developer Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, which is in a joint venture with landowner Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Negri Pulau Pinang to develop the 2.6ha plot in Gelugor.
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I find that his statement was a bit disingenious. The sale and purchase agreement (probably) had lapsed after 3 months. (If so,) this meant that the CM had to sign off to accept the payment. If the land office did not ask him to sign off on the deal this can only mean that the land office officer (could have) broken the law and the deal was illegal.
If the CM had signed off without consulting the exco this meant that he had acted on his own without discussion with the exco and therefore must be held fully responsible for his action.
As I had said before I believe the CM had made a mistake and is now finding it difficult to explain.
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Ashamed to be a Penangite? There are thousands out here including myself proud to proclaim ourselves Penangite regardless of KBP.
Why don’t we ask Anil to do a poll on this KBP subject to gauge Penangites’ support for once and for all?
Anil, what say you? Hope you have the courage…
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There are so many reports and controversies on ex-MB Khir Toyo, ex-CM Koh Tsu Koon’s, Balkis, SYABAS, and many many dug out deals which is not favourable to the Rakyat but to the GLCs.
What PR state Government can do? They still rely on SPRM and Court to investigate and charge them. PR state government can replace SPRM? PR state government can replace Court?
We are here discuss and discuss and as it the state government is a “BIG BULLY”. Do we know that the government servants in the states are under JPA (Jabatan Perkhimatan Awam). Even the State Government has no power to remove the government servants.
Believe me, YAB CM Lim Guan Eng will continually powerless in “Bullying” but just a servant to the Penang people to be fair in governance the state affairs.
We are so used to see Politician and Leader to be lord over the people. We wish and used to be slaved of the Politician and Leader and enjoying being a slave. In my opinion, Politician and Leader are the servant to us.
Should we despise leaders like Khalid Ibrahim and Lim Guan Eng who are so humble and just a commoner like us? Should be expect them to wear a robe and escort by many body guards and policemen during an outing? Then we will respect them?
In an olden society, we have different classes of people and people from different classes can not inter marriage. Why? They despise the weak and they worship the strong due to fanaticism.
Lim Guan Eng or Koh Tsu Koon? We should respect them because they are the elected representative and they are the Leader to serve the people in Penang.
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Morning Dew, I agree. What is needed is some honesty. Instead of conducting a masterclass in evasion (to borrow the British Liberal Democrat leader’s description of the Labour PM’s explanation on the release of the Lockerbie bomber), Guan Eng, of all people, should know this.
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Anil, have a poll on Penangites’ support on KBP.
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Why? Would it make you feel better? Let me tell you the result: Penangites outside KBP did not have their own ancestral homes demolished and local community destroyed; so of course many of them don’t care about or feel for KBP.
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A poll in the next general election will tell the truth. Next GE is about three and a half years to go.
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Anil,
what a poll on kbp ?? what is it going to prove. We , the Rakyat are demanding that all exco minutes be published whether in BN or Pakatan states. In Penang , it should include those involving kbp whether those during BN or Pakatan reign. Lets all join together and clamour for it. With regards to LGE government , that should be ‘given’ for them, as one LGE seem to have made that pledge last year June and came out in Malaysiakini ( as rightly pointed by a previous commenter).With specific regards to Penang whether it involves KTK or LGE,we do not care. we want to see the prove and not ramblings by these politicians. no one is a ‘sacred cow’ (no insult meant to any brethrens) for us, the Rakyat.
Or the passage of a year plus as CM after making the pledge , changed LGE’s stance. Anil, if you are going to take the trouble to set up a poll, maybe the topic should be whether all exco minutes be published for public viewing , again as was mentioned by LGE about a year ago.
Rakyat want to reclaim their rights and we are no politicians’ fools whether KTK or LGE.
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LGE’s mind change is faster than lightning speed.
On that 308′s glorious night, he proclaimed to media that no deputy chief minister posts whatever as KTK kowtowed to UMNO.
Remember that DAP was strongly opposed deputy CM post when they were opposition in the state.
LGE’s CAT comes with a new meaning as Gerakan coined it to “Complaining, Accusing & Twisting”.
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Great idea, Harry. Let’s see a poll on whether all exco minutes should be published for public viewing or not.
Of course, we should anticipate “the BN didn’t publish their exco minutes” excuse in a short while.
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Penang Gerakan Chief Says “CAT” Stands For “Complaining, Accusing & Twisting”
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newspolitic.php?id=443361
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I couldn’t give a toss what Gerakan says. The idea is so DAP doesn’t end up like Gerakan.
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LGE loyalists here have lost all semblance of impartiality, objectivity and regard for the truth in their bid to outdo each other in smooching his … … LOL!
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