Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should listen to the plight of Kampung Buah Pala residents when he meets them tomorrow, said the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

Cautioning him against using the meeting as a 'political stunt' to firefight the mounting criticisms, Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy said it will be an excellent opportunity for Lim to explore a constructive solution to address the villagers' predicament.

penang kg buah pala 010709 guan eng respond to villagers He said Lim should be open minded instead of being overprotective of corporate interests.

The London-based Hindraf leader pointed out that the villagers only wanted their chief minister to protect their legitimate rights over their land, which is the only Indian traditional village left in the state.

"Lim should not use the meeting for a public relations exercise to restore his descending credibility. Any mistake would be costly for DAP and Pakatan Rakyat in the next election," he said.

The villagers claimed that they and their ancestors have lived in the village, formerly a colonial coconut plantation, for nearly 200 years.

They claimed that their village land was gazetted under a housing trust, and the previous Barisan Nasional state government had wrongfully alienated the land and subsequently sold it for RM3.21 million to Koperasi Pegawai Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang.

Meeting arranged by Karpal

They face eviction after Aug 3 to make way for a luxury condominium project, called Oasis.

kg buah pala 020709 villagers protest Oasis developer, Umno-linked Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd issued writ of possession to the villagers last week.

The villagers have declared they would not surrender their village and would defend it at all costs.

They are even prepared to acquire the land at an affordable price and plan to start a nationwide fund raising campaign to finance it.

The villagers tried to meet Lim in Komtar on June 30 - both in the morning and in the evening.

However on both occasions, the chief minister did not turn up despite the villagers and Hindraf supporters waiting for hours to discuss the issue with him.

Instead, Lim left it to his political secretary Ng Wei Aik to talk to them.

Lim finally agreed to meet the village representatives at his Komtar office tomorrow morning.

It's learnt that the meeting was arranged by Bukit Gelugor parliamentarian Karpal Singh following a meeting with Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association chairperson M Sugumaran two days ago.

In the meeting, Sugumaran had purportedly questioned Karpal on the state government's sincerity, commitment and honesty to resolve the crisis.

He had also raised questions on the electoral promises made by Karpal, Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer and Deputy Chief Minister 2 P Ramasamy to protect the village.

Not interested in compensation

Association secretary Steven J Draviam said the villagers would be represented by Sugumaran, two committee members and their lawyer Darshan Singh Khaira tomorrow.

"We are not interested in compensation. We will insist that the state government buy the land to preserve our heritage village," he told Malaysiakini.

hindraf kampung buah pala protest at penang kamtar 300609 02 Meanwhile, Waythamoorthy remains critical about the suggestions from certain Pakatan leaders calling on Lim to find a win-win formula to end the crisis.

"There is no two ways about it. Lim should preserve the village as the state Indian heritage," he stressed.

He also chided Lim for failing to lodge reports with the Malaysian Anti Corruption Agency and police to probe into the alleged village land scam done by the previous administration.

"Why has Lim failed to do so despite claiming that the land deal was tainted with malpractices?" he asked.