THE Penang Government must fulfil its promise to the Rumah Hijau squatters in Mak Mandin to build affordable flats within their present village.
MCA vice-president Datuk Chor Chee Heung said Pakatan Rakyat’s alleged pledge to the Rumah Hijau squatters in Butterworth during the 2008 general election has apparently vanished into thin air.
“The state government is now trying to push this to the Federal Government to solve but our hands are tied as the land belongs to the state. Nonetheless, I will try to help,” he said.
If Barisan Nasional manages to win back the state in the next general election, Chor said he would take it upon himself to ensure that the long-suffering Rumah Hijau villagers got what was promised.
He said this during a dialogue session with the people at the Bagan MCA division headquarters on Sunday.
Sixty-six families there are demanding that the current state government build new flats within the village for them, as allegedly promised.
★Squatters in Butterworth open Dialog with Dato' Wira Chor Chee Heung,10 July 2011. from left to right Loo Khay They, Chor Chee Heung, David Chua & Sum Yoo Keong.On a separate matter, Chor, who is also the Housing and Local Government Minister, said his ministry would investigate a developer allegedly involved in building an inferior quality housing project in Ampang Jajar.
The Ampang Jajar project is located near Rumah Hijau.
“I will wait for an official report from Bagan MCA and if it is true, the developer will be blacklisted,” he said.
Chor also urged Chief Minister and Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng to assist the Ampang Jajar homeowners in getting a soil test report, as they could not afford it.
“I understand that this is a big problem as some houses are now sinking. The state must look into this because the hard-earned money of the buyers is at stake.
“Meanwhile, I will check with the Seberang Prai Municipal Council president (Maimunah Mohd Sharif) to see how my ministry can help,” he said.
Later in Jawi, Chor presented appointment letters to the Village Safety and Development Committee members and presented two Proton Arena cars to the Sungai Jawi and Kampung Valdor voluntary firemen there.
He said at present, there were about 26,000 firefighters nationwide — half of whom were volunteers.
“It’s just not possible to have fire stations in every kampung nationwide, hence we need volunteer firefighters on standby, especially in villages,” he said.
He added that the Government was actively looking at ways to improve the welfare of volunteer firefighters.
Also present was Jawi Barisan coordinator Tan Cheng Liang.
In her speech, Tan said under Chor, the constituency’s drainage and flooding woes would be taken care of as they came under his ministry’s purview.
