theSun | THURSDAY AUGUST 6 2009
news without borders
Residents unhappy over
developer’s conditions
by Himanshu Bhatt
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
GEORGE TOWN: The residents
of Kampung Buah Pala have ex-
pressed anxiety over conditions
and limitations imposed by the
developer Nusmetro Ventures (P)
Sdn Bhd in its offer of 24 double-
storey terrace houses.
The assistant secretary of the
residents committee, C. Tharma-
raj, said yesterday the houses,
offered during a meeting with
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on
Tuesday night, seemed to be just
cluster houses, with no details or
guarantees on the structures.
“There are 41 families alto-
gether but the proposal has only
been put to 24 families,” he said.
“Furthermore, the families
have to pay rental for two years
(while waiting for the houses to
be built).”
The residents have applied for
a revision of a Federal Court rul-
ing that went against them. The
application is fixed for mention
on Aug 18.
Tharmaraj also questioned
the state’s failure to invoke sec-
tion 116(d) of the National Land
Code despite having announced
it a month ago. According to the
clause, any building on alien-
ated land cannot be demolished
without approval of the relevant
authority.
He said Lim had assured the
residents at Tuesday’s meeting
that in the event that the villag-
ers rejected the offer, the state
would file an application in court
to invoke section 116(d).
“If that fails and if the devel-
oper still comes to demolish the
village, the state government
would revoke the development
order,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister (II) Prof
Dr P. Ramasamy said the deal was
worked out after a hard bargain.
“The developer agreed to the
request to share a portion of the
land with the residents by offer-
ing double-storey terrace houses
with a 99-year lease,” he said.
He conceded that some quar-
ters may say the offer of landed
property was too generous and
set a “dangerous precedent”, es-
pecially when no Barisan Nasional
(BN) or any state government had
done so before.
“However, there are special
circumstances for Buah Pala in
that they were allowed by the
original land owner to live there
during the British colonial days
before the land reverted to the
government,” he said.
Exco gets gag order on
beer sales controversy
by Karen Arukesamy
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SHAH ALAM: Selangor Mentri
Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim
Lloyds imposed a gag order on the state
executive council members yester-
posts day on the beer sales controversy
huge loss pending a solution to be announced
pg 13 tomorrow.
“I have asked the exco mem-
bers not to make any statement or
comment on the issue until Friday,
when we will announce the guide-
lines set by the task force,” he told
a press conference in his office.
The gag order came on the
heels of a call by Selangor PAS to
“review” exco member Ronnie
Liu’s portfolio, which covers local
government, after accusing him of
“interfering” in the local council
enforcement operations.
“I am tasked to solve the prob-
lem and the best way to do it is to
find a fair mechanism, taking into
account the needs of the public
and, at the same time, respecting
the views of the people from all
cultural backgrounds,” Khalid
said.
“The action is essential to avoid
further confusion or misunder-
standing on the issue, which may
cause unnecessary discomfort
among Selangor’s multiracial
community.
“The (gag order) decision was
made at the state exco meeting
today after several exco members
raised concerns over the sale of
alcoholic drinks in Muslim-popu-
lated areas.”
Asked whether Liu will be re-
moved from his portfolio, he said:
“No, once we solve the problem
there won’t be any issue.”
On the letters sent out by the
Shah Alam City Council (MBSA)
since May to about 100 conven-
ience-stores to stop beer sales in
Muslim-majority areas, Khalid
said: “I will resolve it by Friday.”
He also said the state had been
engaging in public dialogue with
various NGOs, residents’ associa-
9
tions and the business community
on the issue.
“We are confident of coming
out with an appropriate solution
to accommodate the multiracial
population in Selangor,” he said.
Earlier, in a statement, MCA
central committee member and
non-govermental organisations
liaison committee chairman Datuk
Ti Lian Ker said the confiscation
of alcohol by the MBSA was is in
conflict with federal law.
Describing the move as ultra
vires the constitution, he said
neither Liu nor the DAP should
condone it.
“There must be consistency in
the implementation of the law and
the local authority cannot overrule
an express provision of the law at
will,” he said.
Ti said the Excise Act allowed
beer in bottles and cans to be sold
freely without a licence.
“Only beer sold in barrels or
served is regulated by the local
authorities,” he said.