PENANG MAHU HARAMKAN RUMAH KOS RENDAH

Wednesday July 21, 2010
Penang may ban low-cost homes
By IAN MCINTYRE ianm@thestar.com.my
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Housing Department is mulling over a move to ban the construction of low-cost units with a built-up area of less than 700 sq ft, said committee member Sim Tze Tzin.
He said this was because the flats eventually became slums due to poor infrastructure and crammed living conditions.
“I feel that low-cost units should not be built on Penang island to prevent these places from becoming ‘unliveable’ areas,” he said here yesterday.
Sim, who is Pantai Jerejak assemblyman, was commenting on development issues on the island arising from mounting problems of squatters and shortage of land.
Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi had recently said residents at eight urbanised villages were facing eviction due to rapid development in his constituency.
He had labelled them the “eight big headaches” of the state government, adding that they were “long-drawn affairs” that began during Barisan’s rule.
Sim said there was a need for the state government and developers to think “out of the box” when it came to meeting housing needs and commercial demand.
He added that there were about 1,000 people who were technically defined as squatters in Penang.
Sim proposed that monetary compensation given by developers to squatters should be replaced with offers of housing for them near the site of their original homes.
“For example, if the squatters are accorded RM40,000 compensation, the money can be used as down payment to the developer for them to purchase the new units near their original homes.
“This would generate a chain reaction for a better quality of life on the island,” he said.
Sim urged the state government not to approve applications to build triple-storey bungalows which are sold at RM1mil and above as it was a wastage of land.
He also hoped that the relocation of squatters was not politicised.
“All political parties need to work towards resolving the problem,” he said, urging the Federal Government to allocate money for Penang to establish a housing fund to help address the issue of squatters.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/21/nation/6694234&sec=nation

Pecat Nor Yakcop, Zarinah

Pecat Nor Yakcop, Zarinah

KUALA LUMPUR 15 Julai – Perdana Menteri diminta supaya memecat Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop dan Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Sekuriti, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar daripada portfolio masing-masing ekoran penjualan dan pembelian saham berkepentingan negara beberapa tahun lalu.Wee Choo Keong (Bebas-Wangsa Maju) berkata, sebagai contoh, pengambilalihan Hospital Pantai daripada Pantai Holdings Bhd. (Pantai) oleh syarikat Singapura, Parkway Holdings Ltd. (Parkway) pada 2005 melalui pembelian saham bernilai RM312 juta sepatutnya tidak berlaku dan dihentikan oleh Suruhanjaya Sekuriti.Lebih mengejutkan, dakwa beliau, penguasaan Pantai kemudiannya ditebus (bail out) oleh Khazanah Holdings Bhd. (Khazanah) selepas Nor Yakcop menyatakan pengambilalihan bernilai RM800 juta itu bukannya satu penebusan, sebaliknya merupakan kesediaan pembeli dan penjual dalam pasaran.“Ini adalah kenyataan bekas Menteri Kewangan II (Nor Yakcop) yang memperbodohkan rakyat Malaysia. Khazanah terpaksa membayar RM800 juta untuk mengambil alih Pantai daripada Parkway.“Tidak semena-mena sebuah syarikat asing (Parkway) membuat keuntungan sebanyak RM500 juta daripada wang rakyat dan lebih teruk, Khazanah tidak menguruskan Hospital Pantai sebaliknya melantik Parkway menguruskannya. Mengapa?” tegasnya.Beliau percaya ia berlaku dengan pengetahuan Nor Yakcop dan Zarinah.Beliau berkata demikian semasa membahaskan Rang Undang-Undang Antipemerdagangan Orang (Pindaan) 2010 di Dewan Rakyat hari iniSelain dakwaan itu, Choo Keong memberitahu, Nor Yakcop dan Zarinah juga perlu dipecat kerana:
* Nor Yakcop mempunyai sekurang-kurangnya 500 peti besi mengandungi wang tunai berikutan setiausaha politiknya, Hasbie Satar ditahan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) selepas didapati menyimpan 48 peti besi mengandungi wang tunai.* Pelupusan 10 peratus saham Telekom Bhd. yang dijual kepada syarikat Singapura, Temasek Holdings dan tindakan Maybank Bhd. membeli saham Bank International Indonesia pada harga yang amat tinggi.* ‘Gangguan’ terhadap empat wartawan perniagaan berkaitan penjualan saham Kenmark Industrial Co. (M) Bhd. bertujuan melindungi skandal Zarinah dan suaminya, Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman.Choo Keong mendakwa kes-kes tersebut membuktikan Nor Yakcop dan Zarinah sengaja ‘membutakan’ mata untuk melindungi para pengkhianat serta perompak negara.“Ini adalah contoh klasik kepada peribahasa Melayu, harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi,” tegasnya.

NINE CHINESE SCHOOLS IN PERAK TO GET LAND FOR PALM OIL ESTATE

Nine Chinese schools in Perak to get land for palm oil estate
BY IVAN LOH
IPOH: The Perak Government has allocated a 1,012ha piece of land to nine Chinese independent schools here to be developed as a palm oil estate.

The estate will help the schools earn income in order to be self-sustainable.

The piece of land in Besout, Sungkai, will be managed by Semangat Suwa Sdn Bhd, a company set up by the nine schools' board of governors.

Semangat Suwa chairman Tan Hau Swee said a private company had expressed interest to pay RM3.6mil annually for rights to develop the palm oil estate.

"The revenue from the private company can cover about 30% to 40% of the annual expenses for each of the schools," he said during a press conference called by Perak executive council member Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon here on Tuesday.

"Each school spends an average of about RM200mil annually.

"About RM400,000 to RM600,000 are spent on management fees alone each year," he said, adding that this figure did not include the expenditure of building and education development costs.

The nine schools are SM Shen Jai, SM Yuk Choy and SM Poi Lam - all in Ipoh - , SM Nam Hwa in Sitiawan, SM Yik Ching in Pantai Remis, SM Pei Yuan in Kampar, SM Hua Lian in Taiping, SM Sam Min in Teluk Intan and SM Tsung Wah in Kuala Kangsar.

However, Tan said the schools would still need support and donation from the public to help with their education development needs.

"We hope the public will continue to support us," he added.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/20/nation/20100720170226&sec=nation