Penang government officials have been told not to attend a programme organised in conjunction with the visit of Prime Minister Najib Razak to the Tanjung Tokong Malay village.

“I am afraid preventing us from attending a function organised for the rakyat smacks of attempts to politicise the event,” said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

NONE On Nov 23, Lim said state officials, including executive councillors and assemblypersons, were invited by UDA Holdings Berhad chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohammed to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the Tanjung Tokong Heritage Village on Dec 8.

“However, we were later told by a high-level official from UDA that it is better for us not to attend,” he told reporters at a press conference after speaking at the 8th Asea Economic Summit jointly organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute and the Penang Institute.

“Yesterday, we received an official letter telling us that the ground-breaking ceremony has been cancelled. Najib will still be visiting the area to attend another programme,” he added.

It is learnt that Najib would only be attending events in Bayan Baru and Universiti Sains Malaysia this Saturday, where he is expected to announce several goodies for Penang.

NONE He is not expected for any events in Tanjong Tokong, one of the earliest Malay settlement in Penang.

Over 40 odd years, Tanjung Tokong folks have been struggling to prevent eviction and to protect their villagers from being taken over by a massive development project by UDA, a federal government-linked development company.

The cancellation letter, sent by UDA Land North Sdn Bhd and signed by operations head Kamarudzaman Mohd Zain, said that “the cancellation was necessary due to unforeseen circumstances”.

‘Disappointed at cancellation’

Lim expressed disappointment over the cancellation of the event, saying that the state had worked closely with UDA and the federal government to resolve the crisis enveloping the villagers.

He said with the state cooperation, the crisis which affects more than 1,000 villagers, has come near to being resolved.

NONE “You will notice there is not much sensational news about the issue as it is slowly being resolved by all parties,” Lim said.

“That is why we feel a bit disappointed that the event is suddenly cancelled and we fear the development in UDA may be politicised,” he added.

“We thought some promises can be fulfilled, but it seems, even one promise like this cannot be fulfilled,” he quipped.