Chua: Federal Govt will help

BARISAN Nasional’s Bagan constituency co-ordinator David Chua says he will seek funds from the Federal authorities to buy a piece of land to resettle the remaining 70 families living in the Rumah Hijau longhouses in Mak Mandin.

He said the party could not wait for Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to negotiate terms with owners of three parcels of land near the original site to buy up one of the parcels for the same purpose.

“Back in March, he took representatives from the Rumah Hijau Bagan Residents Association to meet officers at the Housing and Local Government Ministry to apply for funds to build a low-cost flat block.

“As a result from that visit, the National Housing Department wrote a letter to them saying that it was willing to consider their application.

“I am confident the Federal Government will provide the funds to buy an alternative piece of land somewhere else, as well as funds to build the replacement housing units,” he told a press conference yesterday.

On Monday, Lim had said that the state government was prepared to buy or acquire a 1ha plot of land in Mak Mandin to assist the Federal Government in the relocation of all 240 families from the Rumah Hijau longhouses.

Lim had said that the state had identified three parcels of land, each measuring about 1ha near the longhouses, as options to facilitate the construction of a replacement flat block.

Chua said he disagreed with Lim’s move on Tuesday to ask the Federal Government to build 350 replacement flat units for the over 300 families, who originally stayed at the Rumah Hijau longhouses.

He said most of the families have already moved into housing units in a low-cost flat block in Ampang Jajar, built by a private developer in 2009.

“I do not see why we have to drag them out of their housing units in Ampang Jajar as many had spent a lot of money to renovate their units.

“However, I will conduct a survey to determine how many families are willing to give up their Ampang Jajar flat units and join the remaining 70 families in seeking for replacement units in their old Rumah Hijau site itself,” he said.

Chua also quizzed the state what it planned to do with the Ampang Jajar flat units of those families that opt to move out and occupy units in the proposed replacement flat block in the Rumah Hijau area.

“Is the state saying that these families are entitled to two housing units, one in Ampang Jajar and another in the proposed flat block at the Rumah Hijau site?.

“Or is the state delaying this for political purposes?” he said.

Residents all eager over DPM’s visit to Butterworth

DEPUTY Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s visit to Bagan in Butterworth on Saturday where more than 30,000 people will greet him will be the first made by a deputy prime minister.

He will be in the parliamentary constituency for the ‘Jom Bersama TPM — Semarak Kasih Rakyat’ programme in Raja Uda.
More than 200 hawkers will be serving local delights to the visitors.

Muhyiddin is also scheduled to meet local leaders from all communities in the Bagan parliamentary constituency.

Bagan Implementation Coordination Unit coordinator and Bagan MCA youth chief David Chua said the event would be held at the field behind the Caltex service station in Lorong Aman 4, off Jalan Raja Uda between 2pm and 6pm.

“We are excited over his visit as this is the first time a deputy prime minister is visiting Bagan and the people are eagerly waiting for the event,” he said during a press conference held at Bagan MCA division headquarters in Jalan Kampung Benggali, Butterworth, yesterday.

Also present were Bagan Umno representative Aminah Ishanak, Bagan Jermal Barisan coordinator Sum Yoo Keong, state MIC representative L. Balasubramaniam and Bagan PPP chairman M. Purushotaman.

Looking forward: Bagan ICU Co-ordinator David Chua (third right) with the organising committee members posing for a photo in Butterworth, Penang

Chua said they would be distributing 30,000 food coupons worth RM300,000 to the visitors through non-governmental organisations, associations and clubs in Bagan.

He said visitors with the coupons are also eligible for a lucky draw with a 42-inch LCD TV as first prize, a fridge (second prize) and a laptop (third prize) as well as 53 other prizes.

He said buses would be provided to the residents in low-cost flats to transport them to the venue.

He said more than 5,500 T-shirts would be distributed to members of Barisan component parties.

He added that Tourism Minister and Penang MCA chief Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, Penang Barisan chief Teng Chang Yeow, state Umno chief Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman, state MIC chief Datuk G. Rajoo, state Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan and state PPP chief Datuk Dr Loga Bala Mohan would also be attending the event.

More Details: The Star Online

16 Jun 2012 JOM Bersama TPM di Parlimen Bagan

Lawatan Rasmi YAB Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ke kawasanParlimen Bagan pada 16 Jun 2012. Semua di jemput hadir"JOM BERSAMA TPM"

JOM bersama TPM

Tarikh :16.6.2012 (Sabtu) 

Masa:1pm - 6pm

Tempat: Padang Jalan Tanjung Aman 4 (Belakang Caltex Raja Uda) 

New turn in shrine issue

‘Barisan needs stronger voice in state assembly’

BUTTERWORTH: Bagan parliamentary Barisan Nasional coordinator David Chua has called for a stronger Opposition voice in the state assembly. Chua said voters should support Barisan candidates in the next general election to have a stronger Opposition. Penang has 40 state seats of which Pakatan Rakyat has 29 while Barisan, through Umno, has 11. “There is no MCA or MIC representation in the state assembly, but I hope the people will support both parties so there can be a check and balance,” said Chua. Earlier, Chua, who is also Bagan MCA Youth division head, paid tribute to the Bagan Wanita Umno division head Jumabee Mohamad for her effort in obtaining hampers and business equipment from the Women, Family and Community Deve-lopment Ministry to help the poor constituents here. Chua said the country had been peaceful since independence under Barisan's leadership. It had been proven that Barisan could maintain peace and order besides helping the country develop, he said. Bagan Dalam Barisan coordinator M. Karuppanan said the coalition showed sincere concern about the welfare of the people with the 1Malaysia concept, whereby nobody should be left behind. He claimed that there were signs that the Indians were returning to the Barisan fold. Earlier, hundreds of Taman Bagan residents thronged a health programme organised here.

‘It is just a service road’

BUTTERWORTH: A road that the state government claims to have built to discourage motorists from paying toll at the Sungai Nyior plaza here is nothing more than a service road, an MCA Youth leader here said.

“Jalan Bagan 29 in Taman Bagan is merely a service road that connects Jalan Siram and Jalan Bagan 1,” Bagan MCA Youth chief David Chua said yesterday.

He said the state government spent RM5.7mil on the 1.5km road but it was underutilised as only about 500 people live along Jalan Siram while most of the buildings are shophouses.

“If the state is sincere in wanting to provide a proper alternative road, it should build a road parallel to the Sungai Nyior toll plaza,” Chua said, responding to a point raised by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng during his recent debate with MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

Lim had reportedly said during the debate that the Penang Government had built an alternative road for motorists to avoid paying the 50sen toll at the Sungai Nyior toll plaza.

Refering to a February 2007 posting on the DAP website that quoted Penang DAP secretary Ng Wei Aik as saying that the Sungai Nyior toll would be abolished if Pakatan Rakyat took a parliamentary seat and four state seats in the 2008 general election, Chua said DAP had failed to keep its pledge.

Asked if MCA would recommend to the Federal Government for the toll collection to be abolished, Chua said the Government had already reduced the toll rate from RM1 to 50 sen.

“The Government is subsidising 50 sen in the toll charged by the concessionaire,” he said.

The Star
Tuesday February 21, 2012
By DERRICK VINESH

Road ‘not good enough’

CHIEF Minister Lim Guan Eng has come under fire for misleading the public that his administration had built an alternative road Jalan Bagan 29 for motorists to avoid paying 50 sen toll at the Sungai Nyior toll plaza in Butterworth.

Bagan MCA Youth chief David Chua said the former Barisan Nasional state government had built the alternative road Jalan Todak which connected Chai Leng Park and Seberang Jaya even before Pakatan Rakyat came into power in Penang.

“If the state is sincere in wanting to provide a proper alternative road, it should then build a parallel road next to the toll plaza.

“Jalan Bagan 29 in Taman Bagan is merely a service road that connects Jalan Siram and Jalan Bagan 1,” he told reporters at Taman Bagan in Butterworth yesterday.

Chua was commenting on the statement by Guan Eng during Saturday’s debate with MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek that the state had built an alternative road for motorists to avoid paying toll in Sungai Nyior.

■Making a point: Chua (left) with Bagan MCA deputy chairman Sum Yoo Keong discussing the map of Jalan Bagan 29 along the road in Butterworth, Penang.

He also claimed the DAP had failed to keep a pledge before the 2008 general election to abolish the Sungai Nyior toll col- lection.

“A posting on the DAP website dated Feb 25, 2007, quoted party leader Ng Wei Aik as saying that the Sungai Nyior toll would be abolished if Pakatan wins a parliamentary seat and four state seats, including the Prai seat, in the March 2008 general election,” he said.

Asked if MCA would recommend to the Federal Government for the toll collection to be abolished, Chua said the Federal Government had already intervened to reduce the toll rate from RM1 to 50 sen.

“The Federal Government is presently subsidising the remaining 50 sen in toll charges to the concession holder,” he said.

Chua also said the state spent RM5.7mil on the 1.5km-long Jalan Bagan 29, which he claimed was underutilised, noting that fewer than 500 people live on Jalan Siram.

“Most of the buildings on Jalan Siram are shophouses, apart from a Hindu cemetery near the Jalan Siram-Jalan Telaga Air junction,” he said.

Meanwhile, state Public Works, Utilities and Transport Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said the state government was willing to consider building an alternative road next to the toll plaza provided it was consented by the Federal Government.

“The Federal Government must give us a guarantee that the concession holder overseeing toll collection in Sungai Nyior will not claim compensation from us for causing traffic ‘leakage’ along the stretch,” he said.

Hock Seng said the state was looking at the possibility of connecting Jalan Todak in Seberang Jaya with the Jalan Bagan 1-Jalan Bagan 29 junction via a flyover at an estimated cost of RM35mil.

Ng could not be reached for comment.

The Star
Tuesday February 21, 2012
By DERRICK VINESH