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One thing is crystal clear here, all those who seem to be championing the rights of the Kampung Buah Pala Villagers are actually doing so to score political points while at the same time do maximum damage to the credibility and reputation of the DAP led Pakatan Rakyat government in Penang. Don't be duped for a moment that the MIC are not doing anything about Kampung Buah Pala. While the PR government has been working hard behind the scenes to help the plight of the Villagers, the MIC has been going around poisoning the minds of the Villagers by telling them not accept any compensation offered. I know for a fact that one household had accepted a compensation of RM 90,000 and a low cost flat as compensation and was willing to move out. Unfortunately, the Villagers with the instigation of MIC created a ruckus until the compensation offer to that particular household was withdrawn...More http://*********.********.com/...html#links

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If justice is on your side,take to the courts not to the street.Just watch that explosion of emotions.It can back fire and do more damage.just be civil and follow the law.You will have the people that matters on your side.

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Now this letter is so not arrogant anymore.

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To (PENANG) Pakatan Rakyat Government,

As the current state government in Penang, you are obliged to answer the 2 questions.

If the previous government screwed the Kg.Buah Pala folks, pls just say what actually transpired from day one. We just want know the truth so that the public and the readers here will here stop writing idiotic comments since they don't know what happening.

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To Uncle Lim KS,

Kindly post your investigation and opinion in your blog on Kg Buah Pala.
You are not doing justice to your supporters by remaining silent on the substantive issues pertaining to this land.
Please just lay bare the facts honestly.

Thank you.

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"If a proper investigation shows that we are not entitled to stay on this land, we will leave without asking for compensation."

Just hope the squatters keep their words?

Koh 'has given his blessings to investigate , so go ahead and audit the illegal sale ?'...who is the former chief minister said Lim should focus on solving problems instead of blaming the past state government or the Federal Government.

These investigations should bring down the all BeEnd Governments as well.

Let's Fast and Pray for Wisdom, Revelation, Peace & Tranquility to prevail.

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I am glad that commentors find the tone of the letters now less arrogant. How can anyone demand in any tone other than that which befits their station in society when asking for answers from the government that rules them.

Mr. Ah Seng, thank you for pointing out that arrogance is not becoming for people that are about to lose the homes they have lived in, for more generations than we care to remember.

How can a bunch of cowherds demand answers in any tone other than subservience?

Who the hell do they think they are!!

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So true, Jeevan. How can mere cowherds DEMAND anything from these superior beings .. even when they are going to lose their homes!

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Is it so difficult to believe those poor villagers were conned off their land by BN/Gerakan?. Their modus operandi is to use some government cooperative to transfer the land or whatever, make it looks like it will benefit the government servant and later sell it to some cronies. It happen to PKFZ and its now in Kg Buah Pala. The simple truth is the villagers have been CONNED. The thing is their committee should know about this all along. Why blame the current PR government for this con job by the previous BN/Gerakan government?. You don't want compensation and you want to stay put. Who is going to pay for this luxury? The Penang tax payer? The last we heard it cost RM30-150mil. And after this, if the PR government paid, who will own the land?. Are the villagers going to live there forever in perpetuity free of charge. Come on, be reasonable. Take the compensation of 200K and hope the PR
government can dig up some juicy details to expose those bastards. But with the Fed BN government behind them, I doubt we can do anything about them.

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"While this investigation is in progress, stop any attempt to demolish the village."

This is the tough part.
Under which act can the state legally stop any attempt to demolish the village?
Under what authority can the state set up an investigative panel that will have the right to subpoena witnesses unless that is within the legislature?
(so there goes the impartiality as many would prefer)?
Such investigation may take months, if not years.

Meanwhile, if the developer comes with the court bailiff to enforce his right as ruled by the federal court, please suggest under which law can the state act to forfeit or curtail that right ?

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This is the problem with critics of LGE on this issue. While it make some good points, the argument is incomplete. To suggest that LGE is hiding behind the Federal Court is ridiculous. What can LGE do if the Federal Court is corrupt and ruled wrongly?

When will people realise change is difficult and its naive to believe that just because things are logical to you, it should be logical to everyone else and things should work out according to you ideas. Reality don't work that way...

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I have been following MT for a long time and occasionally made comments. It seemed to me that more and more commentators include links to their own blogs. I find some make controversial comments to attract attention and entice others to their blogs. We should comment in response to the article but it is not right to comment just to try to get visitors to their blogs to earn income through ******/online advertising.

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So 40 or so families want to continue their cowboy lifestyle in an urbanized environment. Nothing wrong with that, but at what price? You need to ask if the Penangites want to fork out tens of millions if not hundred of millions for this. I can't tell you how many times I curse at those who let their cows roam freely at the roads, endangering everyone who uses it.

Everything comes at a cost. From the comments here, it's OK as long as others are paying for it. Come on people, if you are serious, start a donation campaign where you can put your money where your mouth is. Till then, shut up and go clean your cow dunks

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*********'s comment, from his blog "was contributed by a former resident of Kampung Buah Pala, Raja Cholan (not his real name) to give a first hand account on what's going on there.

I do not know whether ********* knows Raja Cholan personally or investigated the truth of what was written. I take it that he would stand by what was written since there was no caveat about possible content error.

I'd like to bring to readers' attention a news report from Malaysiakini entitled "High Chapparal 'rep' abandons her own PC http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107830. The so-called rep was actually PKR office bearer who had been coerced into spinning a pro-PR story by a high ranking PKR officer.

We should take care to read all these juicy stories with some degree of skepticism, not just stories that attack DAP or PR or the stories that support BN. You can never tell which story is for real and which is fabrication or spin.

I wish to remind all readers about a concept called Barisan Rakyat that was born well before the Pakatan Rakyat was formed. Barisan Rakyat must remain politically neutral and call to account any politician, whether BN or PR if there has been a breach of ethics or promise. To become mindlessly pro-PR will not serve in our best interests.

In the Kg Buah Pala situation, there are two separate issues, each needing significantly different handling.

1. First of all, there is the situation of the residents who have been systematically cheated of their heritage by the government in collusion with cronies. A heartful solution must be found. This matter is of utmost urgency because once the village is demolished, all further discussion becomes academic.

I don't imagine that Koh Tsu Koon is in any position to do anything about this since he now really has no power. Many readers are rushing forward to defend Lim Guan Eng. Why not let Guan Eng speak for himself? If Guan Eng washes his hands off this matter, then don't blame the residents for seeking help from BN.

2. The second issue is to bring to book all those involved in this dastardly conspiracy. In this matter Koh Tsu Koon cannot wriggle out. He has to take full responsibility. But everyone knows about the corruption in our legal and administration systems. Unless the BN is displaced at the Federal level, little that is positive can happen. If the villagers are forced to go to BN for help, this is simply an invitation to BN to come back to Penang.

People speak about similar cases in other BN held states and ask why there is no such demonstration in those places. I hope you understand that the right to hold such demonstrations is what democracy is all about. The PR state governments should be happy and proud that such free democratic expression is taking place in their domain. This is their achievement. The fact that it is directed against them should not detract from the positive development.

We have taken some baby steps towards democracy. There are many directions in which we have to grow as a nation. Let us not become a heartless, money-grubbing nation.

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The sale of that piece of land below market price was approved by the then state exco.
Nothing irregular about that as such sale is the the prerogative of state governments.
There are possibly thousands of such "fire-sales" in 50 years of BN rule in all BN states all over the country, many to supporters and cronies of the governments in question.

How is anyone going to prove corruption if the exco members themselves are not directors nor close relatives of the new owner of this land ?
Not unless someone got a video, like Mr. Loh Guo Burne.
Even that, it has been shown, it's still not enough to warrant prosecution.

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This piece of land is a living reminder of the connection and contribution of the Indian community with Penang since its foundation as a British colonial trading outpost over 200 years ago. These people were poor and according to reports, Mr Brown, the original owner, gave them in writing the right to continue living and farming there. If such generosity of spirit can be exhibited by a colonial trader, it seems inexplicable that the Pakatan government of which DAP is the backbone cannot come up with a permanent solution to safeguard the land for the Indians who have a 2 century association with the land.

At a time when Indians are blatantly marginalised by BN, Pakatan cannot been seen to selling the Indians down the river over this issue. No price can be put on preserving this piece of land with its historical associations, being a symbol of Indian and Hindu presence on the Island. It is also ultimately a moral issue and one of good governance which DAP has been banging on about all these years whilst in the political wilderness. Now that is it in power, it should not allow abuse and exploitation by capitalists to win the order of the day over this issue.

In the same way DAP fought for Bukit China because of its historical importance and as a symbol of Chinese presence and legitimacy, DAP should regard this issue with equal importance. If it does not, the I am afraid DAP will be undermined and will be seen as a 'chauvinist' Chinaman party giving more weight to illegal 30 year old pig abbatoirs than to the livelihood of poor Indians who want to live on land which they have a 200 year connection with.

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Mr Singam, granted the CM wishes to accomodate the residents and all those affected by the eviction order, can you suggest some way out how the CM can act contrary to the Federal Court ruling without a blatant act to the Rule Of Law? In as much as every concerned party has all the disagreement with such ruling.

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malsia1206, it would be presumptuous on my part to suggest specific actions when I have no access to the details of preceding events. I could read up on what a CM can or cannot do, but to what purpose? I believe LGE and his team have a better grasp of the situation.

My intention is to raise awareness about the situation because, reading many of the comments, it appears that distorted facts rule the day. I also want LGE to understand how strongly people feel about this. It will be most convenient for him if this problem just goes away. I want him to become fully aware that the problem won't go away so easily and that there will be repercussions no matter which way he chooses.

Many people probably have reached the conclusion that I am anti-LGE and anti-DAP. They have not had the benefit of reading my initial comments in Facebook when information about this issue was just beginning to emerge. I understand that LGE is in a difficult position. But it is his part to make some hard decisions.

I am quite sure that LGE is already very much aware of all of the stuff we have discussed here. So we have not really given him any new information. What we have showed is how the people feel about this.

This is a period when the PR is being tested severely. They have to come out of this looking like winners because our future is in their hands. That is why right decisions are so important.

The destruction of the Maha Mariamman temple in Klang just before Deepavali in 2007 was a triggering event that galvanised the Hindraf movement and powered the Makkal Sakthi wave to the March 2008 tsunami. Khir Toyo never knew what hit him.

Let not Kg Buah Pala become another triggering event that, this time, hits the PR and undoes all the gains since March 2008. It may look highly unlikely today. But key triggering events are never noticed until the damage is done.

These are perilous times where a small misstep can cause unimaginable damage. Even the controversial pig abattoir is fraught with danger. The PR must tread carefully.

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Bukit Cina is chinese heritage so LGE needs to preserve it but 200 years old Kg.B.Pala, belongs to "squatters" as some "intellectuals" inform us and most of all it belongs to Indians.Their votes are neglible and he is too busy dealing with 'pigs'.When your home is stolen by theives,some of us suggest donations to pay the ignorant villagers,my what an attitude!!!Sickening!Is there any HUMAN in PKR to help those suffering souls????

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Helo..the are not squatters....shall we elaborate what a squatter is?

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Hello wisdom...they are not squatters..

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I urge LGE to take seriously what Singam, a firm supporter of Pakatan, has to say here. I cannot insist on certain outcomes, but I do like to see no stone left unturned to ensure that the residents get a fair deal.

LChuah

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Dear Kirdash,

That those kampung Bala folks are squatters has been decided by the federal court.
For civil dispute in this country, is there an authority higher than the federal court?
How do you get the present apex court to issue an injunction against its own ruling to order a retrial ?
(A lawyer with Hindraf in the heat of the moment suggested going back to the federal court with new evidence but has since been keeping very quiet)
Care to advise ?

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To all the tamby's like proarte, Temenggong , Singam, get this through your thick head. Get your own money to buy over the land and then talk. If you can raise that money, wGuan Eng would be more than glad to exercise his powers to acquire the property the very next second. What PR promised before the election was that , the folks plight will be looked into and they will get a legitimate property to stay for good. But that was not enough. Greed took over and they wanted more. A reasonablecompensation and relocation to a legitimate property , just like other squatters all over Malaysia, was not good enough. They wanted special preferentials. They wanted to be filthy rich or a title over propety worth millions which they can immediately sell and become instant millionaires and innocently hiding behind pathetic sob stories and sheer innocence. Sudah lah , your melodramatic is too over realistic and people know your real intentions.Its not just about money but money that can make those filthy snakes instant millionaires. I can bet you that if ever Guan Eng try a diplomatic approach, he will be reprimanded if he does come with the right amount $$$$$$$$$$$. This is what a snake is all about.And you know what will happen after that. The Indians in Selangor, Kedah and Perak will make thier move to become backdoor millionaires with our money by more threats, more ransom and endless ridiculous demands.

Generally, the whole public understands Guan Eng's predicament and is abhorred with the racist Hindraf people. They just looked at Indians and not everyone else. What a shame.

Dear Mr Lim Guan Eng, don't bow to these scumbags. We are willing to lose their votes rather than heeding to this ransom.What can they do? Join BN and get back to licking the valueless butthole and continue being donkeys again. If they think that is what is good for them , so be it.

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