Most Read
Most Commented
Read more like this
mk-logo
News
Kg Buah Pala - all sides share the blame
Published:  Aug 14, 2009 11:11 AM
Updated: 8:01 AM

your say 'The past and present state government, the inpatient developer, the greedy owners, those so far unseen and unexposed ‘black hands’ behind them, the residents/association...'.

On Resilient villagers stop bulldozers in their tracks

Dr Jacob George: All parties share blame for this fiasco. The past and present state government, the inpatient developer, the greedy owners (the cooperative), those so far unseen and unexposed ‘black hands’ behind them, the residents/association, which includes its ‘bullish’ secretary who refused ‘a middle of the road’ offer.

Now where are the outsiders who parachuted in to 'milk' this issue for political gains who were all screaming 'fire and brimstone' and willing to be arrested? This is a classic case study of high-powered corruption, abuse of power, political apathy, manipulation, and greed by internal sources and worst - the intervention by third parties, all for their perverted political agenda.

Chua Kong Cheng: The residents of Kg Buah Pala should have accepted the house offer from the developer in the first place instead of asking for RM3 million in compensation. Since they have made their 'right' decision, they will have to take the consequences. Somehow, I pity them too because they are just like all of us who need a house to stay.

Arivalan Ramaiyah: Lim Guan Eng (LGE) has failed to be the people's CM. He made a report to MACC on the possibility of fraud in the land transaction. At the same time, he also concluded the deal by accepting the money from the Koperasi. Due to his mistake, poor people are now being victimised. I regret for voting for you. It will never happen again. You don’t deserve to be CM.

Takung: We all have to live by the consequences of our actions. Look how being antagonistic and belligerent has got them (the villagers). They were negotiating from a legally weak ground, with only public sympathy as their weapon. That evaporated when they were shown to be the bunch of greedy people they were.

Instead of working with the state government, they kept attacking the people who were there to help them. Bravo, LGE. You did the right thing. Let the law take its course. As to Vijay Veerappan, what has the ethnic background of the MB got to do with the issue at hand? Go ahead and vote BN or whichever party you believe will serve you best.

Lacerations: LGE did everything in his capacity as a CM for all Penangnites. The Penang government has a limited budget and using a huge sum for reacquiring the land is nonsense. There are other more needy people who need the money. Kg Buah Pala villagers, if you want vent your anger, do it on the previous government which sold off the land dirt cheap!

Antares: NOTICE: Nusmetro Ventures and all shareholders involved in the Oasis Project are hereby informed that your descendants will suffer the negative karmic consequences of your malignant greed. All who purchase residential units at the Oasis or set up businesses in its vicinity will find neither joy nor prosperity but instead will experience unmitigated sorrow and pain until their hearts begin to feel empathy and they cease being self-centred and materialistic.

Kevin: The villagers were too greedy. They may have been instigated by Hindraf and MIC to play hard ball when the Federal Court has ruled against them. Their mistake was to accept the help of people with political agenda who used them as a platform to bash Pakatan Rakyat. As a result, sympathy for them has dissipated. They should have accepted the offer of a double-storey house instead of holding out for more.

Wei Lien Liang: Hopefully by now, the villagers realise that those leaders, P Uthayakumar and Hindraf, are there to serve their own political agenda and self-interest at the expense of the poor villagers.

Alexander Yuan: You are given a double-storey house but you reject the offer by demanding RM3.5 million each. In the end, you have nothing. I symphatise with you all, but that has a limit. And it broke when you went on. It's like a blackjack player holding 20, but wants to get 21... and ended up losing his bet. You reap what you sow. And don't cry after that.

Choon Lee Kuang: They (the villagers) cannot stop the government or the corporation from developing a place unless you are the legal owner of the 'kampung’. Much like the road in front of your house, it belongs to the government, even the ditch belongs to the government. It is impossible for the government or the developer to compensate RM3.5 million for each of the current houses they staying in now. That is way too greedy.

Raveendran Shanmugam: LGE is no different than Umno. He manipulated the villagers, he denied them due legal representation, he lied about the RM200,000 compensation, the fact that the land was freehold when in fact it was leasehold and then he did not take responsibility for the lies.

He said he would revoke the developers development order but in fact he is in cahoots with the developer to demolish the village. I understand from within the police force that he instructed the police to keep the journalists away from the demolition scene. Penang is doomed under LGE.

Kenny Tan: This practice of blaming the Penang goverment must stop. They are in no way responsible for the villagers' plight. Even if fraud has been committed, LGE has no power to reverse the land deal. This matter can only be appealed in the court. LGE also cannot acquire the land under the National Land Code as the compensation may cripple the Penang government who has to look after everybody, not just the families in Buah Pala.

I support LGE's decision to withdraw the state government's involvement as the villagers' demands get excessive just because the government is sympathetic to them. Who is blackmailing who? LGE and his people also get continually abused by those with their own political agenda. It's best to leave it between the villagers and the developer.

Janani Devaraja: I'll just like too pose a question, especially to the Malaysians who have posted comments in favour of KBP (Kg Buah Pala). Is it true that each of the families was offered a RM300,000-RM500,000 house as replacement. Is it true that they demanded RM3.5 million instead?

If the above two are correct, do you actually honestly believe that each of the villagers’ squatter-style house is worth RM3.5 million? Are they not being just a bit greedy in their demands and making it impossible for LGE, a man who still tried to help despite being attacked by them, to get a deal. Let us be realistic in our demands.

ADS