Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy is peeved over accusations that he failed to address the housing rights of the poor, an election promise he allegedly made in Batu Kawan in 2008.

NONE Ramasamy, who is Batu Kawan MP, said it was a 'blatant lie' that he did not care for the residents after throwing his weight around during meetings with the Penang Development Corporation regarding housing problems.

"I had to bang the files on the table and threaten to resign as PDC board member unless housing for the poor was given a priority," he told reporters in his office in Komtar.

"I had to fight against those still with the mentality of Umno in PDC to get the Batu Kawan residents proper housing," he said.

The alleged "unfulfilled promises" prompted a protest from a group of about 100 residents in front of Komtar last week, although on that day Ramasamy was in Kuala Lumpur for the parliamentary sitting.

Ferried by several buses, which Ramasamy claimed was funded by MIC, the residents rallied against him and state executive councillor and Bukit Tambun assemblyman Law Choo Kiang for neglecting their plight.

They planned to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, seeking his attention to address their various grievances.

After failing to submit the memorandum, the group led by Ladang Batu Kawan Hindu temple committee chairman A Nallakumar, requested for another meeting.

Among their complaints were requests for proper housing, funding for Tamil schools, land for temples and Hindu cemeteries.

Looking back on the campaign trail

Ramasamy said within the three years of Pakatan Rakyat's rule in Penang, the state government has "resolved" those issues in Batu Kawan, addressing problems based on "needs" rather than election promises.

NONE He denied making any promises, saying he was not even aware he would win the parliamentary and the Prai assembly seats in the last polls.

"All we did at that time was whacked BN, that was our overriding election campaign theme," he said.

"I had to challenge former CM Koh Tsu Koon in Batu Kawan. I was not even aware of the problems there.

"When DAP told me to contest, I asked, ‘Where is Batu Kawan?'" he quipped.

Ramasamy had said then that he did not trust the temple committee due to an incident involving PDC land, working instead with the village committee heads to develop his constituency.

He added that he has nothing to do with the committee, as the Batu Kawan people were also "angry with them".

However, Ramasamy was not overly worried about losing Indian support in his constituency, despite the community's lack of faith in his leadership.

"Batu Kawan people often come to see me at my service centre on Wednesdays, they are happy with me," he added.