The Penang Civil Servant Cooperative Society, the landowner in which Kampung Buah Pala is located, has agreed to build 24 double-storey terrace houses for the evicted residents on a plot of land in the village.

A unanimous decision was reached by 121 delegates on the matter at the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang Bhd’s two-hour extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in City Bayview Hotel today.

The cooperative society chairperson, Abdul Razak Mansor, said out of the 24 double-storey houses, the delegates have also decided that the houses must be offered to 10 of the villagers’ original 33 toll-holders.

NONE He said the 10 were the first batch of residents who left the village after agreeing to the compensation offered under the previous Barisan Nasional state government.

Out of the remaining 14 houses, he said 12 would be offered to those enlisted by the current Pakatan Rakyat state government.

He said the cooperative society would leave to developer Nusmetro Ventures Sdn Bhd’s discretion to decide on the balance of two double-storey houses.

“I hope the cooperative’s decision on the proposed double-storey houses for Kampung Buah residents would finally laid rest the village controversy,” he told journalists after the EGM.

When asked about the 11 remaining toll-holders who have not been offered the double-storey houses, he said the residents had declined to accept the house offer and had instead asked for cash compensation of RM300,000 each.

NONE He said the developer, on the other hand, was only prepared to offer RM125,000 cash for each of the 11 residents.

Although the double-storey houses under 99-year leasehold would cost about RM500,000 each, he said the cash compensation offer was made based on the construction cost of such houses.

“Perhaps the cost to build a double-storey house would be only RM100,000. So the developer does not want to pay RM300,000 compensation,” said Abdul Razak.

He said the 11 villagers would have to negotiate with the state government for the cash compensation.

11 to seek legal advice

Kampung Buah Pala was once known as the Tamil High Chaparral due to its population of cowherds, cattle, goats, other livestock, unique hilly environment and Indian cultural features and festivities.

penang kampung buah pala condominium project macc report 090609 05 The village was demolished last month to pave way for a lucrative condominium project named the Oasis, undertaken by the cooperative society and Nusmetro Venture.

Abdul Razak said the four-bedroom double-storey houses will be built on 1.5 acres of the 6.5 acres village land.

With the EGM endorsement today, he said Nusmetro would soon submit a new project development plan for state’s and local council’s approvals.

He said the Oasis project would be officially launched in November and be completed within the next three years.

When contacted, Kampung Buah Village Residents Association chairperson M Sugumaran, who was among those not offered the houses, said the 11 residents would seek legal advice before taking further action on the compensation issue.