GEORGE TOWN (Oct 23, 2011): The 24 families who were controversially evicted from the historic Kampung Buah Pala village here, two years ago, have been handed over keys to new double-storey houses built by the developer in a deal negotiated by the Penang government.
Deputy Chief Minister (II) Prof Dr P Ramasamy hailed the terrace houses as the best compensation package for eviction victims in the country.
“We have delivered the best possible Deepavali present,” he said during a ceremony to present the keys, officiated by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, today.
Also present were developer Nusmetro Ventures Sdn Bhd managing director Thomas Chan, Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh and Sri Delima assemblyman RSN Rayer.
The deal, however, excludes nine families whom Ramasamy claimed had not accepted the offer despite being given up to four months to agree.
The village, demolished in September 2009 following protracted resistance, was a remnant of Indian planters and labourers brought by the colonial British administration during the 1800s to work at the Brown Estate in Gelugor.
The Penang government had approved the land for alienation to the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang in 2004 for a condominium project, currently under construction.
Residents disputed that the land transaction by the then Barisan Nasional (BN) state administration was fraudulent, and that their forefathers were beneficiaries of a housing trust under the Brown Estate.
read more at thesundaily.my
