Now we hear that the federal government is “ready to help” the High Chaparral residents, says Deputy Minister T Murugiah.
“Although the Barisan Nasional (BN) is not in power in the state, the Federal Government still belongs to BN and we should help the people, regardless of their race,” he said. Check out the Bernama report here.
Meanwhile, former Penang chief minister Koh Tsu Koon has washed his hands off the Kampung Buah Pala crisis, saying he would not interfere to avoid getting blamed.
Who exactly owns Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, the developer of the Oasis luxury condominium project?
According to the latest records for the developer filed with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Asia Link-up Sdn Bhd holds 96 per cent of the RM250,000 issued share capital of Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd.
That makes Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd almost a wholly owned subsidiary of Asia Link-up.
But who owns Asia Link-up then? It’s now time to lift its corporate veil as well.
According to the Companies Commmission, Asia Link-up documents registered as at 24 April 2009 show that Mohamad Faridz Karim of Balik Pulau owns 80 per cent of the company’s RM500,000 issued share capital. Faridz has also been director of Asia Link-up since October 2004 and director of its subsidiary, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, since April 2005.
The old well at Kampung Buah Pala where clear fresh water reaches ground level – Photo by Anil Netto
For those of you still unfamiliar with the background to the High Chaparral issue, here’s an excellent write-up by Himanshu Bhatt in today’s Sun:
Kampung Buah Pala holds its breath
THERE is an old well said to have been dug some 100 years ago in Penang’s Kampung Buah Pala, a charming settlement of cowherds and planters, which still provides fresh groundwater for many villagers. So remarkable is this well that during the national water crisis of the late 1990s, it became the lifeline for thousands of Penangites who made a bee-line to collect its water when all other supplies failed.
It’s time to lift the corporate veil on the developer of the Oasis project, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, to find out who the people behind it are. The company was previously known as Nusmetro Ventures Sdn Bhd, until the name was changed in 29 April 2005 – around the same time the previous state government entered into an agreement with the Penang State Government Officers Cooperative to alienate the High Chaparral land.
The Nusmetro Group website is very “shy” when it comes to revealing the names of the top people in the company. So we need to look elsewhere.
The three directors of Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, according to information from registered company documents as at 3 February 2009 filed with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, are as follows:
Lam Chung Fatt from Batu Caves is the company secretary.
According to a PKR source, Mohamad Faridz is believed in Balik Pulau circles to be allegedly linked to a Penang Umno bigwig.
Chief Minister Guan Eng has issued a warning to Nusmetro Ventures after the Oasis developer’s “highly irresponsible and inflammatory” threats yesterday.
Meanwhile, the state investigative committee needs to quickly get to the bottom of the circumstances surrounding the questionable sale and land transfers. What has happened to the villagers’ report to the MACC?
The State Government will not take a single cent of the so-called “goodwill payment” from the developer unless the kampung Buah Pala residents agree to the compensation.
The Penang state government warns Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, the developer of the proposed housing project in Kampung Buah Pala, for threatening to send bulldozers in by August 2 to forcibly evict residents and demolish their houses as highly irresponsible and inflammatory. It is highly improper to stoke fear into the villagers’ hearts by reminding them that they will have to move out by Aug 2 when the one-month grace period given by the developer expires and there will be “no more extensions”. The one-month grace period was negotiated by the state government with the developer to find a solution to the problem.
The developer for the Oasis project, Nusmetro, says the High Chaparral villagers have until 2 Aug to leave the land, according to a media source. The developer is drawing a firm line in the sand.
The Kampung Buah Pala residents have released a statement today, expressing dissatisfaction with Pakatan politicians who had promised to defend their right to the land during the general election campaign last year.
The villagers, who had earlier filed a complaint with the MACC over the land deal, are also claiming that not all families and households were offered compensation.
Some excerpts from the statement:
If the present State Government cannot stop the demolition then it is adopting the abuse of power by the previous government and is a party to it.
…We ask the state government to act now and at least stop and postpone the demolition. It can direct the developer and the police to do so. It should not abdicate its responsibility and shirk its responsibility.
Penang Chief Minister Guan Eng makes several points: