Press Statement by Lim Guan Eng in Georgetown on Thursday, 9^th July 2009: 

The declassification of documents relating to of the chronology of BN Penang EXCO decisions prove beyond a shadow of doubt that Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and his UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan cohorts had robbed Kampung Buah Pala residents of their land without consulting them 

The Pakatan Rakyat Penang State EXCO had in yesterday meeting decided after consulting and getting approval from the State Legal Advisor, to declassify and reveal the decisions behind the BN State EXCO led by the present Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon in alienating Kampung Buah Pala to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang.

The chronology of events prove beyond a shadow of doubt that Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon And His UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan cohorts had robbed Kampung Buah Pala residents of their land without consulting them. The state government land of Kampung Buah Pala was approved to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang twice by the BN Penang state EXCO led by Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon on 18.8.2004 and 8.6.2005 with a premium of RM 6.42 million or RM 20 per square feet which was then subsequently reduced further to only RM 3.21 million or RM 10 per square feet. So far Koh Tsu Koon has not explained why he approved this project without consulting the residents or selling it to Koperasi at such a low price.

Instead of training their guns and questions on the land robbers of Kampung Buah Pala, collaborators of BN had orchestrated a smear campaign through the control of the mass media against the new Penang State government as being responsible when full assistance within the confines of the law had been given. If BN was in power now and not PR, the residents would have been evicted and Kampung Buah Pala would have been demolished since last year.

Will continue to try to get the Kampung Buah Pala residents to meet without being manipulated by certain irresponsible targetting the state government to distract attention from those who robbed their land

The refusal by some of the residents of Kampung Buah Pala to meet with me and the Penang state government yesterday is regrettable and displays an aggression, hostility and even arrogance that is puzzling. Questions are raised why one or two of the so-called leaders of the residents are now so defensive of BN and anti-PR, particularly anti-DAP. Why is this aggression targeted against the PR government that is trying to help them? In contrast not a single demonstration or action is taken against the BN land robbers who deprived them of their rights.

The refusal to meet me appears deliberately staged by using the flimsy ground of denying their lawyers to be present when their legal counsel, Cecil Rajendra was also present. Sadly this was also not published in the BN controlled media even though Cecil Rajendra was present with me at the press conference yesterday.

I wish to appeal to the residents not to be manipulated by certain irresponsible parties but to come and meet me for a heart to heart talks. By refusing to meet, the residents are playing into the hands of the land robbers who want to these talks to fail, the residents evicted, their houses demolished and PR blamed. Unlike BN, the PR government has not cheated the residents of a single inch of their land and will try out all legal avenues suggested by their legal counsel, Cecil Rajendra. Time is running out and the residents should distinguish between those who are sincere in helping them against those who are distracting attention from the real culprits who robbed them of their land.

* Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General & Penang Chief Minister; Member of Parliament for Bagan