Monday, April 28, 2008

Karpal: Villagers can stay put - NST

GEORGE TOWN: April 28, 2008

Residents living at Kampung Buah Pala, an Indian village in Bukit Gelugor here, are entitled to live there as the land had not been lawfully transferred to a co-operative, said Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh.

He said the land on which 350 residents lived was still a subject matter of a housing trust created in 1953.

"The co-operative cannot be the owner of the land. The registration of land ownership does not make them the lawful owner," Karpal said at a press conference at the village yesterday. Present were Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer and Batu Uban assemblyman S. Raveentharan.

Citing the incident on Thursday where the developer attempted to evict the families from their houses, Karpal said the developer could only do so with a court order.

"What it did on Thursday amounts to criminal intimidation and I urge the police to study the report that we have lodged."

He also hoped the police would not be a part of attempts to evict the villagers as "they had no business or court order to do so".

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