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Penang Govt gives up on Kg Buah Pala

August 20th, 2009
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After yesterday’s event, I kind of expected this response from the state government. The state government is washing its hands off the problem of Kg Buah Pala since the residents have approached the Federal government.

Now the residents have chosen their path, and can’t turn back.  Most likely they will end up with nothing unless federal government waves a magic wand.

I think the state government were looking for an excuse,  and the residents provided one just in time.  We can only hope that the residents have been given the correct advice by those involved.

The Penang government said its mediator role between Kampung Buah Pala residents and the landowner and developer is “as good as over.”

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said as far as the state government was concerned, the matter ended when some of the villagers sought help from the Barisan Nasional.

“We have done our part and as far as we are concerned, the matter ends there.

“Since they have gone to see the Barisan, the matter ends there,” he told reporters at a Ramadan aid presentation to mosques at Politeknik Seberang Prai here on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Kampung Buah Pala residents association committee chairman M. Sugumaran handed over a 17-page memorandum to Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Permatang Pauh Barisan Nasional operations centre.

Sugumaran told Muhyiddin that only the Barisan could help resolve the villagers’ problem, claiming that the Penang government had “merely made empty promises.”

Sugumaran said he hoped Muhyiddin would shed some light on the matter since land issues were generally under the Federal Government’s purview.

Lim said the move to meet the Muhyiddin merely validated the state’s concern that the residents could have been used by certain quarters, or that they might have a “political agenda.”

Lim said he did not understand why the Kampung Buah Pala villagers were doing this.

He claimed that the Barisan had not done anything for the residents, while the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government helped them obtain an offer of double-storey terrace houses with a 99-year lease title.

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Kg Buah Pala residents give memo to DPM Muhyiddin

August 19th, 2009
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I got to hand it to the residents, they are really pushing every possible button in order to save their land. If state government not able to help, go to Federal. Even though PM Najib already said land matters are state issue, DPM Muhyiddin seem to indicate otherwise.

Not sure what he meant by “The deadline (for the residents to vacate the land) is Aug 31. We want to see how the state government can resolve the issue”. If after 31st August only want to do something, most probably they will only see a flattened land. The developer is itching to demolish the place, so I’m not sure where the DPM is leading the residents to. A false hope? Now the state can turn around and say since the Federal government seem to indicate can do something, we’ll just leave it to them. That’s the peril of jumping ship. Its like burning the bridge at both ends.

I’m sure the residents are aware their problem was caused by the same group from which they are asking for help now. When desperate, have to  resort to desperate measures. Can’t blame them. Now, its up to Federal government to save them. How? Maybe federal government and coalition can make some deal with the coperative and/or the developer, bypassing the state government. Err..along the way, MIC need to be given some role to play as well.

So, its with (in)sincere feeling that the rep, Sugumaran pleads:

“…Now we realise that only the BN can really help the people,” said Sugumaran.

Kg Buah Pala issue may also impact the upcoming by-elections in Permatang Pasir, so each coalition needs to play its card properly. Will this be turned into a racial point? corruption point? administation weakness point? Which coalition can milk the most out of Kg Buah Pala sage to entice the 70% over Malay voters and minority Chinese and Indian voters?

The federal government has so far not intervened in the Kampung Buah Pala land ownership issue as it wants to see whether the Penang government is capable of resolving the issue.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said this to Kampung Buah Pala residents association chairperson M Sugumaran after receiving a memorandum on the issue from him.

“The deadline (for the residents to vacate the land) is Aug 31. We want to see how the state government can resolve the issue,” he said.

The seven-page memorandum was handed to Muhyiddin when he visited Permatang Pasir, near here, to look at the Barisan Nasional’s preparations for the upcoming by-election.

Sugumaran said in the memorandum, the association urged the federal government to intervene in the issue in order to save the traditional village and turn it into a planned village.

He said the residents were forced to ask for federal government intervention following the state government’s failure to keep its promise of helping the villagers if the opposition was given the mandate to govern the state.

“(Lim) Guan Eng (chief minister) cannot assist us. Now we realise that only the BN can really help the people,” said Sugumaran.

The Federal Court recently ordered the residents to vacate the 2.6ha village land belonging to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang (KPKPP), to make way for a housing project.

However, the Federal Court yesterday fixed Friday to hear a new application by the residents to set aside the Appeals Court’s decision made on May 11, that KPKPP is the rightful owner of the land. – Bernama

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Gobala Gobala

August 19th, 2009
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Looks like Gobalakrishnan, MP for Padang Serai hitting out at a person (policeman):

And after that, he was manhandled and arrested. It seems broken/fractured the hand, torn pants until can see the underwear.

If based on clip shown in TV3, its a by-election in Padang Serai soon. Its possible that the MP was provoked, but still its wrong to hit a another person, especially law enforcement officer. I wonder how he going to escape from this mess.

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Samy to remain president till next MIC election is over

August 19th, 2009
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Saw the interview excerpt in TV3’s Buletin Utama earlier. Samy Vellu confirmed that he will complete his term as MIC President until mid May 2012 AND will oversee the MIC election process after that before handing over to the new president. That means somewhere around mid September 2012.

Not that we can trust him (or any other politicians, for the matter). It could be some sort of strategy or half-truth to manipulate or disrupt the upcoming nominations and subsequent elections.

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local cooks and barbers on the way

August 16th, 2009
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This is one of the good things organised so far. By relying less on foreigners, we are reducing social problems and also providing job opportunity to locals. As it is, restaurants are employing lots of foreign workers –  managers, cashiers, waiters, cooks, cleaners etc. In a way, it also helps to preserve our culinary heritage. I’m thinking that in 10-20 years, Indian delicacies will end up being “owned” by other races. Nowadays,  thosai, muruku, achi-muruku, athirasam etc, are being hijacked slowly.

Secondly, there’s an issue of wage. Locals will demand and expect better wages and perks, simply because their living expenses are higher than foreign workers. Employers will cite cases where locals are not able to perform as well as foreign workers, while workers will point to the wages and working conditions. While this conundrum exists, it won’t be easy to improve the restaurant industry.

Anyway, its a bit far-fetched to say that “Once they graduate, they will be able to open their own restaurants”.  Opening a restaurant is not like opening a a bank account. Need lots of cash, proper survey, planning etc.

As for barbers, this is a good field indeed. I know that some locals are venturing into this business, but there’s something to consider – which market you want to capture. There’s the “working man” market – no frills service for fees between RM5 – Rm10. Second is the “affordable” market – where more frills and services are provided.

I know that courses involving food and hair styling are offered under MLVK, Kolej Komuniti, and in private colleges as well. Perhaps more accessibility should be provided for these graduates to learn a variety of skills.

KUALA LUMPUR: In future, Indian restaurants will mostly have Malaysian cooks, and not cooks from India, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said.

He said there had been encouraging response from locals to be trained as cooks under a ministry programme.

“We hope to reduce the number of cooks from India in stages, especially in Indian restaurants, once the first batch of locally-trained chefs graduate,” he told reporters after visiting the CQ Tec College here yesterday.

The college received its first batch of 25 trainees for an intensive, six-month programme in June.

Dr Subramaniam said the fees for the trainees were borne by the ministry through the Human Resources Development Fund, adding that they would also receive monthly allowances.

“Once they graduate, they will be able to open their own restaurants,” he said, adding that the future was promising for Indian youths.

He said the idea was mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who wanted the ministry to train local chefs and not depend on cooks from India.

Another training programme undertaken by the ministry was hair-styling, to replace barbers from India.

“We want the two sectors (restaurants and hair salons/barber shops) to rely less on foreign workers and employ locally-trained people,” he said

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