Let’s go back a bit and look at the timeline:
3 October 2005 – Nusmetro enters into a joint venture with the Koperasi.
5 October 2006 – Planning permission is given by the local authorities.
27 March 2008 – Temporary title (Borang 11AK) (99 year lease) is registered in the name of the Koperasi. The title contains a restriction saying that there can be no transfer, lease, sub-lease or any transaction.
There are also two caveats shown on this temporary title document:
After Perak, is the BN now eyeing Selangor? That is the question that seems to be on quite a few minds.
Malaysians politics is now in a state of flux, with both the BN and the Pakatan suffering a series of setbacks.
This is a piece I wrote for Asia Times:
No winners in Malaysia’s political tussle
By Anil Netto
PENANG – The political situation in Malaysia is in a state of flux as both the ruling coalition and the opposition alliance face mounting challenges and uncertainties.
Photo courtesy of Magick River
The Magick River blog reports that the water level at the Selangor Dam has plummeted.
More details of the compensation package have emerged, which supersedes my earlier post on the subject.
Here is the summary of the package gleaned from a copy of a letter obtained from one of the villagers. The two-page letter dated 4 August bears the signature of a director of Nusmetro (name not given):
Here’s an article that should be essential reading in understanding the background to the Kg Buah Pala issue.
In particular, how did Penang state government sell the land to the Koperasi when the trusteeship is believed to have passed to the Federal Government?
From a source, I hear that the following compensation was offered to the villagers at tonight’s meeting:
Two-storey cluster houses: upstairs – 600 square feet; downstairs – 600 sq feet; outside porch, etc – 200 sq feet.
The smog is hitting some areas badly – and it is probably caused by fires and open burning in surrounding areas.
The API reading in Bintulu at 5.00pm was 110, Miri – 121, Samarahan – 111 and Port Klang – 113. Anything above 100 is unhealthy.
A contact in Sarawak told me that a friend of his on a flight from Kuching to Sibu tonight spotted open fires all around as the plane approached Sibu.
Two Sundays ago, another friend of his driving from Bintulu to Kuching spotted similar open burning along the way.
What are the authorities doing about such open burning?
Photos by a kind soul
1600: The developer, Nusmetro, has held a press conference in George Town. It denies there was any legal agreement to hold back demolition, according to a reporter at the scene. Only a court order can hold it back, argues Thomas Chan of Nusmetro. The developer is giving the residents until Friday to vacate the land.
Tonight, during its meeting with the residents, the state government is expected to present a more detailed settlement proposal to the villagers, which would probably involve getting the villagers to co-exist next to the Oasis project.
This morning, about 150 residents formed a human barricade at the village when they heard that a demolition team was not far away. Eye-witnesses spotted about 30 white-helmeted workers wearing lime-green T-shirts with the words “SRE Ventures Contractor” and wielding sledge-hammers; some of them appeared to be foreign workers. But no bulldozers were seen and the demolition team failed to show up in the village.
About 100 police personnel observed the villagers forming the barricade.
When most outsiders hear of Kampung Buah Pala, they tend to think of it as just another crammed “squatter” settlement, with ramshackle houses, surrounded by rubbish and stray animals.
Let me show you the other side of Kg Buah Pala – a side not often seen by outsiders. The village is actually quite scenic, the houses nestled amidst natural greenery. The wooden houses blend in with nature, standing next to rambutan, neem and coconut trees. It is easy to see why the Koperasi and Nusmetro covet this land. But they will only flatten it with orange soil for their construction work.
“People tend to look down on wooden houses,” said one of the villagers, showing me around. “They think that brick and concrete houses are superior, but then they find it so hot inside such houses and apartments even with fans and air-cons. Do you know, when I was growing up here in the village, we had to sleep under double blankets. It was that cool.”