Penang DAP vice-chairperson Zairil Khir Johari has said that the crisis involving the eviction of residents from Kampung Mutiara in Batu Ferringhi would not have been resolved without the intervention of the Penang state government.

"A solution would not have been found without the state government's efforts by using the local authorities and using the power to acquire land, as well as playing an important role by facilitating negotiations between the land owner and villagers," he said in a statement today.

The Bukit Bendera MP was responding to Barisan Nasional-controlled media outlets such as Utusan Malaysia which he said had denied the state government's efforts in the matter...