WARTAKAN KAMPUNG BUAH PALA, PULAU PINANG SEBAGAI TAMAN WARISAN BUDAYA

5 hb August 2009

KENYATAAN MEDIA

WARTAKAN KAMPUNG BUAH PALA, PULAU PINANG SEBAGAI

TAMAN WARISAN BUDAYA

Saya merasa amat terharu dan tersentuh sekali dengan membaca Akhbar Harian Tamil hari ini…

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5 hb August 2009

KENYATAAN MEDIA

WARTAKAN KAMPUNG BUAH PALA, PULAU PINANG SEBAGAI

TAMAN WARISAN BUDAYA

Saya merasa amat terharu dan tersentuh sekali dengan membaca Akhbar Harian Tamil hari ini yang memaparkan tangisan warga emas, kanak-kanak serta penduduk Kampung Buah Pala, Pulau Pinang. Setelah, ratusan tahun masyarakat India di tindas oleh pemerintahan British dan diikuti Kerajaan Barisan Nasional masalah penindasan kepada kaum minoriti ini masih berlanjutan walaupun mereka mempunyai kuasa “Tsunami” politik di negara ini.

Masyarakat India di Malaysia bukannya hamba kepada sesiapapun. Hanya pemerintahan, takut kalau dibiarkan mereka akan mencecah kaki di Puncak Gunung Everest atau mencapai dataran terendah lautan Altantic dahulu. Tanah yang dimiliki oleh Tuan Arumugam Pillai telah dirampas oleh Kerajaan Barisan Nasional sebelum ini atas nama pembangunan kini tanah amanah Keluarga Brown kepada pekerja menjadi rebutan.

Memandangkan terdapat unsur-unsur penyelewangan dalam pemindahan hak milik tanah tersebut , serta syarat- syarat pemilikan tanah Kampung Buah Pala menghalang sebarang pembangunan komersil tanpa persetujuan Kerajaan Negeri, maka saya mencadangkan agar Kerajaan Negeri mengambil keputusan agar Kampung Buah Pala diwartakan sebagai TAMAN WARISAN BUDAYA dengan serta-merta dan memastikan tanah amanah ini terus dimiliki oleh pemegang amanah buat selama-lamanya.

Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang seharusnya memberi tanah alternatif sebagaimana ianya dilakukan oleh Kerajaan Pulau Pinang sebelum ini, tanpa sebarang pampasan kewangan. Ini tidak akan mengakibatkan apa-apa kerugian kewangan kepada negeri. Pemaju, terpaksa akur kepada kehendak pimpinan Negeri untuk membatalkan pembangunan di kawasan Kampung Buah Pala.

Kerajaan Persekutuan seharusnya tidak bersikap keras kepala kerana ianya melibatkan rakyat Malaysia bukannya segelintir hamba-abdi. Kemudahan di Kampung Buah Pala seharusnya di naiktaraf serta-merta sebagai lambang Warisan Budaya Negara.

Sekian.

YB S Manikavasagam

Ahli Parlimen Malaysia, Kapar

Untuk maklumat lanjut sila hubungi Setiausaha Politik, Sdr M Shanmugam di talian 0192654572

Kampung Buah Pala - Final solution?

Buah Pala villagers given until Friday noon - Anil Netto

More details of the compensation package have emerged, which supersedes my earlier post on the subject.

Here is the summary of the package gleaned from a copy of a letter…

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More details of the compensation package have emerged, which supersedes my earlier post on the subject.

Here is the summary of the package gleaned from a copy of a letter obtained from one of the villagers. The two-page letter dated 4 August bears the signature of a director of Nusmetro (name not given):

• Two-storey terrace houses to be erected on plots measuring 20 feet by 60 feet each. The built-up area of each will be roughly 1,400 square feet.
• The villagers have to withdraw all legal action.

• The terms will be subject to a relocation agreement to be signed between the developer and the villagers.
• If relevant approvals are not obtained from the authorities, the compensation agreement will be deemed to be cancelled.
• No mention in the letter of any compensation of monthly rentals incurred by the villagers while waiting for the houses to be ready.
• If the villagers fail to leave by noon on Friday, 7 August, Nusmetro states it and the Koperasi have the right to execute their writ of possession.

How the Kg Buah Pala controversy is resolved is going to be crucial: one elected rep in Selangor told me there are a couple of similar cases in that state which could prove to be just as difficult.

The issue is not one of race. The villagers can be of any ethnic group: today it may be Indian Malaysian villagers; tomorrow it could be Malay or Chinese villagers who find themselves in the same predicament.

The issue is how to ensure justice and a fair deal for the low to middle income groups who stand to lose their family homes – through no fault of their own – when corporate predators move in. So please don’t play up the racial angle. The world would be a much kinder and gentler place if we view it through the lens of compassion for our fellow human beings.

Street protests: It's all your fault, gov't told - Malaysiakini

The umbrella body for trade unions today threw its weight behind street demonstrations by stating that the government was never interested in any forms of feedbacks given by the civil…

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The umbrella body for trade unions today threw its weight behind street demonstrations by stating that the government was never interested in any forms of feedbacks given by the civil societies.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general G Rajasekaran said that the government "always ignored memorandums and proposals submitted by civil society groups".

He added that it was this failure by the government which had prompted the people to resort to street demonstrations.

He was referring to the anti-ISA march which attracted almost 30,000 people last Saturday. The march was broken forcibly by the police with tear gas and water cannons. More than 500 people, including juveniles, were arrested.

"There is no justification for the government to use brute force against peaceful demonstrators," said Rajasekaran in a statement today.

"The whole world witnessed that the march against the dreaded Internal Security Act remained orderly and peaceful until the police intervened with water cannon and tear gas," he added.

He said that the government had failed to understand that the protesters' aim was to submit their concerns against the ISA to the King.

The unionist said that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak must take note that civil society groups have made known their resentment and reasoning for opposing the ISA on various occasions.

"In the last 50 years, series of forums and assemblies have debated the abuses of the ISA. Unfortunately nothing has changed.

"It is now a well known fact that government always ignored memorandums and proposals submitted by civil society groups," he added.

Abdullah only as good as his slogans

He said that MTUC had bad experience with the former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over his attitude and approach to memorandums submitted to him calling on reforms.

He said Abdullah had continuously sidelined the MTUC and ignored the needs of seven millions workers in the private sector since assuming his office in October 2003.

"During his entire five years and five months rein he never met MTUC leaders, he ignored repeated reminders," he said.

Rajasekaran added that the MTUC had submitted four memorandums to Abdullah since November 2003 but saw no response from the government.

The four memorandums were on Privatization of water distribution on Jan 24, 2006, on the impact of increase of Petroleum products on March 27, 2006, on the minimum wage on June 18, 2007 and on the restrictive labour legislations on May 5, 2008.

"Not only Prime Minister Abdullah failed to meet with MTUC leaders, he even failed to acknowledge any of the communications forwarded to him.

"By this he proved that all his slogans were just that - mere slogans. He never believed in any of them," he said.

He added that while it was true that it was the government's responsibility to maintain public order, this should not be used as an excuse to ban peaceful assemblies when all other efforts have failed.