Hindraf warns Penang gov't over 'High Chaparral'
Athi Veeranggan | Jun 28, 09 3:26pm
The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) today called on the Penang Pakatan Rakyat government to end the predicament of some 300 ‘Tamil High Chaparral’ Kampung Buah Pala residents.
MCPX
Or else the influential movement would withdraw support for the coalition in future electoral battles, warned its London-based leader, P Waythamoorthy.

He urged Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to heed to the call made by villagers and civil societies to gazette the ‘Tamil High Chaparral’ as a living cultural heritage urban village.

According to Waythamoorthy, the DAP-led state government should not push Indian Malaysians to a corner, like what Barisan Nasional had done all these years.

“Otherwise, Pakatan Rakyat and Penang government would face Hindraf’s wrath in the next election,” he told Malaysiakini today.

Waythamoorthy slammed Lim’s administration of not fulfilling its responsibilities to end the impasse and for its unwillingness to resolve the villagers’ quandary.

He chided the state government for not showing any interest to preserve the last remaining Indian traditional village in Penang.

“It’s a clear attitude of arrogance ... forgetting the plight of the poor and defenceless after winning the general election.

“The DAP-dominated state government has betrayed the people’s trust. It has failed to protect the weak and the marginalised,” said Waythamoorthy.

He said Hindraf could not comprehend the state government’s nonchalant attitude on the issue, especially when the state government had acknowledged existence of possible wrongdoing in the village land deals.

The Penang government has set up an investigating team headed by Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman to probe into the land deals.

Waythamoorthy smacked the Pakatan coalition of falsely portraying itself as champions of justice, fairness and equality when the villagers’ unresolved dilemma proved that the Penang government had failed to “walk its talk.”

“What’s happening in Penang is pathetic. The state government has deliberately refused to exercise its executive powers to protect the village as a heritage,” said the self-exiled human rights leader, who plans to return Malaysia by next month.

Land taken over by BN state gov’t

The current residents and their ancestors have lived in Kampung Buah Pala in Bukit Gelugor, for nearly 200 years, which originally was a housing trust under the Housing Trust Act of 1950.

The original owner of the once coconut plantation area, David Brown, had gifted the land to the current villagers' forefathers.

However, after independence, the Barisan Nasional state government took over the village as the land trustee and collected temporary occupational licence (TOL) rents until 2005.

In that year, the land office alienated the land to the state government before it was subsequently sold for some RM3.21 million to a civil servants cooperative society, the Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang.

The cooperative has subsequently engaged Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd to develop a lucrative housing project, the Oasis.

Early this month, the village residents' association lodged a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission alleging fraud in the land alienation and transfer carried out by the northeast district land office.

The villagers now face eviction on July 2 after their appeal to annul the land deals and stop the Oasis project was dismissed by the Federal Court.

Waythamoorthy said Hindraf would hold DAP and its allies accountable for their inaction.

He said Hindraf faced difficulties in explaining to the Indian masses on the deliberate inaction of the state government to exercise the powers conferred upon it by National Land Code and Land Acquisition Act.

The Hindraf chief rebuked claims that the Kampung Buah Pala residents were arrogant for not accepting the compensation initially proposed by the developer.

He said the villagers have only asked for the authorities to protect their constitutional rights to live in their ancestral village.

“Is this too much to ask from a state government which portrays itself as a people’s government?” asked Waythamoorthy.

Waythamoorthy’s elder brother, P Uthayakumar, who is legal advisor to Hindraf, paid a visit to the embattled village early this month. (photo

Hindraf plans protests outside DAP offices at 4pm

GEORGE TOWN: Hindraf plans protests outside DAP offices in six states at 4pm over the High Chaparral issue.

Ten Hindraf representatives met Penang CM to hand over the memorandum on problems faced by villagers in Kampung Buah Pala.

Hindraf leader P. Waythamoorthy’s seven-year-old daughter was also with them.

Hindraf vs Lim: War of words continue
Athi Veeranggan
Jul 2, 09
7:02am
The public attrition between the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) and the Penang government over the 'High Chaparral' controversy has reached new heights with both sides continue to trade barbs.

penang kg buah pala 010709 guan eng respond to villagersHindraf leader P Waythamoorthy today sharpened his attacks by accusing Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of being a party to the allegedly fraudulent transaction of Kampung Buah Pala village land in Bukit Gelugor.

Waythamoorthy said since the village land transfer happened under Lim's watch, he should be held responsible for the transaction.

He pointed out that Lim had conceded that the land deals were carried out in dubious manner by the previous Barisan Nasional government.

The land was transferred from state ownership to a civil servants' cooperative society – Koperasi Pegawai-Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang - on March 27 last year, 19 days after Pakatan Rakyat was catapulted to power in the 2008 general election.

kampung buah pala 110609The transfer is said to have been done without the knowledge of the state government despite Lim's directive to the Land Office to halt all land transactions on assuming power.

The London-based Waythamoorthy pointed out that Lim could have easily cancelled the subsequent transaction on grounds of insubordination or non-approval from the state cabinet.

“What I knew was the village's lawyer had even advised Lim to cancel the deal and take administrative action against the culprits. But he did neither,” he told Malaysiakini.

State can invoke Land Acquisition Act

Waythamoorthy also refuted claims by Lim that Hindraf had misled the public in implying that the state government could acquire the village land at RM30 million or below the market price.

hindraf kampung buah pala protest at dap hq petaling jaya 300609 05He said it was Lim's political secretary Ng Wei Aik in his own blog posting which suggested that the land would cost the state government tens of millions of ringgit.

Accusing Lim of putting the cart before the horse, he further questioned Lim's wisdom in coming up with such a “ridiculous” sum.

“Perhaps he is not getting the correct advice from his state legal adviser,” said Waythamoorthy, who himself is a trained lawyer.

He said the legal avenue to acquire the land was under sections 18-35 of the Land Acquisation Act, which clearly stated that the quantum of the compensation to be paid shall be assessed by the land administrator after valuations and survey.

If the awarded compensation was unacceptable, he said Lim can invoke provisions under sections 36-51 to seek the court to determine the appropriate sum, with the assistance of assessors.

“He should not blame Hindraf for his own ignorance of the law,” said Waythamoorthy.

Compensation offer dismissed as 'peanut'

He also rebuked Lim for claiming that acquiring a piece of land such as Kampung Buah Pala was beyond the state government's financial capabilities. Waythamoorthy argued that the village was not exactly developed land.

kampung buah pala penang 250609 01“In any case, the village was developed by the villagers, who have lived there for past 200 years, with their sweat and blood, not by the government or developer.

“If the land is worth hundreds of millions of ringgit because it is developed then the compensation should be awarded to villagers, who are the rightful owners and real developers of the land,” he said.

Waythamoorthy rapped Lim for colluding with the developer to deny the basic human need of having a 'roof over one's head' and uprooting the villagers with the “peanut” compensation offer of RM90,000.

He said Hindraf was willing to sever the movement's friendship with DAP over the issue.

“This issue is not about money, but the preservation of the villagers' right to exist in their hereditary cultural homes.

penang kampung buah pala condominium project macc report 090609 05“As a responsible chief minister and DAP leader, he should be the first to protect and preserve their homes,” he said, calling on Pakatan Rakyat leaders to pressure Lim on the issue.

Developer Nusmetro Venture has given the villagers until Aug 2 before moving in to flatten the village and make way for a high-end condominium project.

Developer in uncompromising mood
Athi Veeranggan
Jul 1, 09
10:22pm
The one-month respite given by a developer to the Kampung Buah Pala villagers against eviction is the last concession to be offered to the embattled villagers.

penang kampung buah pala condominium project macc report 090609 05At the end of the one-month deadline on Aug 2, developer Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd is determined to demolish the houses and flatten the village, replacing them with the high-end residential Oasis project.

The company's executive director Thomas Chan said the company would not compromise anymore on the issue given that it had suffered massive losses for the prolonged delay of the project.

In a press statement released today, he said the company will no longer offer any compensation to the villagers to move out from the village.

Tomorrow the company's representatives, accompanied by a court bailiff, will paste copies of writ of possession dated July 2 in the village to give the villagers two weeks to vacate the land.

kampung buah pala penang 250609 04However following negotiations by Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman and DCM 2 Dr P Ramasamy with the developer, the company has agreed to extend the grace period by another two weeks.

Chan said the company had not breached any laws and has acted in accordance with the court's order.

"We have consulted with the police and sought their assistance. We will move in anytime after Aug 2," he said.

Nusmetro's stance would hammer a stunning blow to the embattled Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who is under fire from the villagers and civil societies for failing to resolve the villagers' predicament.

Compensation given, losses suffered

Chan's intention to pursue the eviction of the villagers also went against the state government's earlier order to the company not to "bulldoze and bully out the villagers".

In the statement today - the first by the developer after the controversy over the eviction erupted in recent weeks - Chan claimed that the company had given out monetary compensation between RM140,000 and RM260,000 to each village household.

He said some 10 households have accepted the compensation, only leaving 21 households in the village that had refused to budge.

"The village does not have 41 households and 300 people as claimed," he said.

He added the negotiations begun three years ago with initial offer of RM90,000 per household but later was hiked up to RM200,000 following the residents' demand for higher compensation.

penang kg buah pala 010709 guan eng respond to villagersIn regards to the compensation given, Chan's statement echoed the chief minister's (left) claim yesterday, which had already been rebutted by the villagers as "absolute lie".

Chan also said the company had suffered RM6 million losses and a 40 percent drop in sales due to the prolonged delay of the development project.

His advice for the villagers was to remain calm and obey the court order given that they were the ones who initiated the legal case.

But villagers are ready to fight

The villagers and civil societies have called on the state government to acquire and preserve the village as state living cultural heritage.

penang kg buah pala 010709 tharmaraj chandranHowever Chan shot down such suggestions, pointing out that the company was in no mood to depart from the land either by agreeing to an alternate site or by way of state acquisition.

When contacted, the village residents' association assistant secretary C Tharmaraj (right) denied Chan's claims of exorbitant compensation, rubbishing it as "ridiculous and obscene".

He warned that villager were prepared to 'give a war' in protecting their village.

"We will not surrender our homes of 200 years," he said.

Entire PKFZ episode smells of fraud, corruption
K Siva Kumar Jul 1, 09 7:24pm
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Sue us but no payment for now, PKA tells Kuala Dimensi.

The conditions of contract (CC) in the development agreement for the PKFZ project between the Port Klang Authority (PKA) and developer Kuala Dimensi allow for a maximum permitted variation of 20 % beyond the development cost.

The CC also mentions that the professional fees shall be borne by PKA although no figure is quoted. In normal contracts, the professional fees vary between 7-10%, with the lower rate being the norm for large contracts such as that for the PKFZ.

As been widely reported, the variation costs and professional fees have widely exceeded these figures. For a development cost of RM1 billion, the variation should not exceed RM200 million while the professional fees should be limited to RM100 million if the higher rate of 10% is paid for professional services.

Now, PKA being the sole implementor of the project, had a project management team comprising the general manager, the engineers, the accountants and legal officers and this team would be fully responsible for the execution of the project from conception to completion.

Their functions include ensuring the rules and regulations are complied with as per the CC, evaluation and approval for change in scope of work or variations, compliance to specifications, determining fair pricing with relation to variations, meeting datelines and targets etc.

Here, as reported in the media, the variation and professional fees have grossly exceeded that stipulated in the CC and the project management team should be held responsible and answerable for the huge positive deviation in costs.

All contracts have CC and specifications and these are legally binding. Ensuring compliance should be the cardinal rule of the project management team. It is a requirement that when variations exceed the stipulated rate, ie. 20% in this instance, the entire project has to be reassessed and renegotiated or re-tendered to benefit the client ie, PKA in this case. This seems to be have been overlooked by the project management team.

Again, the limit of the approving officer for the variations is guided and limited depending on the rank of the officer in the project management team concerned as these are clearly spelt out in the financial regulations of PKA.

So the issue of whether the approving officer had exceeded his limit becomes questionable and going by the huge variations in this case, the financial regulations were possibly grossly violated.

It has been reported that the quantity surveyor (QS) appointed by PKA had also been on the payroll of Kuala Dimensi. Why was it so necessary for PKA to appoint such a surveyor when the government has a long register quantity surveyors available?

It is appropriate that a thorough investigation of the performance management team be undertaken on the need to appoint a quantity surveyor who is not neutral. The surveyor by norm should be beneficial to PKA.

It must be emphasised that the QS plays a very vital and crucial role in determining costs of contracts especially when huge variations are involved. In this situation, there has been no check and balance.

The performance management team, being the sole implementor of the PKFZ propject, had a free hand to change the scope of works which invariably led to vast variations and therefore the increase in costs. Rules and regulations had been vigorously violated and ignored.

For the Transport Minister to now say that a committee on good governance headed by the president of Transparency International Malaysia has been formed to review the procedures in PKA is another excuse with the intention to mislead the public.

To the layman, the entire episode of PKFZ and its performance management smells of fraud, corruption and mismanagement so why is no action being instituted as a immediate positive response when all evidences seem to be right in front of our eyes?

Forming committee after committee is just evading the issues at hand and protecting the culprits. What is the MACC doing? They do not even seem to be moving when so much evidence is already on their plate!

Looks like while Malaysia is already known around the world as having a tainted judiciary, now the government's poor project management and governance is giving a negative impression to the world. What a shame.

I have confidence PKR will pull through this situation,its challenging as its the truth,fair and honesty I dont see a problem......................