Technically speaking, the Sarawak Chief Minister did speak at the House of Lords – but it appears to have been in a room down a corridor.
Not quite the image many had in their minds. Blog reader Sean took the initiative to write to the House of Lords about the visit.
According to him, the House of Lords replied:
Thank you for your email.
Some details about the deal involving the 20 Pykett Avenue building, whose demolition over the weekend caught the MPPP by surprise.
In December 2009, the Mah Sing board announced to Bursa Malaysia that its subsidiary Klassik Tropika had entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire the 3.4-acre freehold property from Khaw Bian Cheng Sdn Bhd for RM38 million. There were two private caveats on the land.
Khaw Bian Cheng Sdn Bhd was supposed to transfer the land free from all encumbrances and with vacant possession. (I guess you could say it is now ‘vacant possession’.)
Taib Mahmud reportedly gave an address at the House of Lords in London on Friday, 23 July.
From the Bernama report here, it is not clear who exactly he was addressing, though the report mentioned:
Also present were Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot Anak Jaem, High Commissioner of Malaysia to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Datuk Zakaria Sulong, Special Advisor in the Chief Minister’s Office Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Conservative Women’s Organisation president Lady Fiona Hodgson, and the Muslim Council of Britain secretary-general Farooq Murad.
I wondered what the House of Lords itself had to say about the visit.
Beyond the glossy brochures of Penang boasting of sandy beaches and promising an unforgettable stay, what do tourists actually make of the place?
Blog reader Sean describes his recent experience on the island. Notice that the need for proper and unobstructed pedestrian walkways figures prominently in his impressions of the place:
It wasn’t awful! There are bits and pieces that are quite good, but it didn’t give us the impression of a proper tourist destination – more somewhere that had moved on from being popular with tourists and had its sights focussed elsewhere now. Perhaps we were just not Penang Tourism’s target market. We were impressed by Rapid Penang – with two small kids, the reliable, clean, cool, inexpensive buses with their cheerful, helpful drivers were marvellous. The ‘frequency’ schedule was great for us on holiday, but I guess it might not be ideal if you’re commuting to work.
The MPPP has been pre-empted in its plans to assess a site at Pykett Avenue for a proposed luxury condominium project.
All that’s left of 20 Pykett Avenue.
The structure, which sits on the site of the original Westlands house, was demolished over the weekend before planning approval for the condominium project had been obtained and while neighbours’ views were being sought, according to a source. This could amount to a planning violation under the Town and Country Planning Act.
The chairman of the British parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal peoples, MP Martin Horwood, has written to Taib Mahmud expressing concern about the plight of the Penan as the Sarawak chief minister arrived in the UK.
A barrage of placards greeted Taib at Oxford University’s Said Business School this morning – Photo credit: Survival
“The Penan have frequently been subject to violence and intimidation at the hands of loggers operating on their land… Without recognition of their land rights, the Penan are struggling to provide for themselves, and are left vulnerable to violence and exploitation,” Horwood wrote, according to Survival, the movement for tribal peoples.
1837: One eye-witness observes of the delegates: “(Almost) everyone looks Malaysian. Very odd!”
1811: The protesters are holding up placards bearing messages such as ‘Any forest left?’, ‘Stop denying Penan rape’, ‘Don’t halt EU-Malaysia anti-illegal logging deal’, and ‘Declare your wealth’.
1800: Taib Mahmud has entered the conference hall. He must have used a side-entrance and given the demonstrators the slip. The protesters are unable to enter the hall due to prohibitive conference registration fees: 1,000 pounds sterling plus VAT per person. For groups of three or more, it is 880 pounds plus VAT per person. Way too expensive for the common folks.
The protesters are from assorted groups; they are mostly individuals concerned about various issues. Says one British activist: “We want to make people in the UK and around the world aware and to let them know that there are people who care about the Penan. It is completely unacceptable that under Taib’s administration, much of the forest has been given to plantations and dams. The Penan have the right to their land.”
Who is moving in and who is being forced out of George Town?
What has been the impact of the Unesco world heritage site listing on the city?
Unlike the MPPP’s prompt, decisive action in the case of an RMAF hostel following a complaint from a neighbouring resident, the council appears slow to respond in another nearby project, despite repeated reminders from a residents group.
The RMAF hostel was being constructed without the plans being approved. In the case of the Bolton Surin project on a steep hill-slope, neighbouring residents are concerned for a number of reasons.
The frustrated Tanjung Bunga Residents Association has sent yet another email to the MPPP which it says will be its final message to the council. The group wants answers to the following questions:
Yesterday, Sunday, 25 July 2010, the developer of Bolton Surin was at it again – working on so-called electrical and other construction work (which caused quite a din, by and by), when we believed that they are supposed not to be working on a rest day.
Oxford University is being heavily criticised for extending an invitation to Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.
British civil society groups have announced a protest rally today in front of the Saïd Business School.