'Tamil High Chaparral' doomed, faces extinction
Athi VeerangganPublished: Jun 26, 2009 7:45 AM | Updated: Jun 26, 2009 5:43 PM
It's all gloom for some 300 Indian Malaysians living in the ‘Tamil High Chaparral' Kampung Buah Pala, Bukit Gelugor, Penang.
For the first time the villagers seem down in their battle to save their village, the last and one remaining Tamil traditional village in Penang.
It's all gloom for some 300 Indian Malaysians living in the ‘Tamil High Chaparral' Kampung Buah Pala, Bukit Gelugor, Penang.
For the first time the villagers seem down in their battle to save their village, the last and one remaining Tamil traditional village in Penang.
On Wednesday, a three-man bench Federal Court delivered a devastating blow to the villagers when it dismissed their appeal to save their village from demolition.
Disappointment, disgruntlement and fear have engulfed them.
Now they have pinned all hopes on the wisdom and caring policy of their Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Uthayakumar said recently that the villagers' plight can end with a mere stroke of Lim's pen.
The villagers are praying for that to happen to safeguard their village that the current residents and ancestors have lived for nearly two centuries.
They want Lim to exercise his chief ministerial power under Section 76 of the National Land Code to save their village from scavenging developers.
They have also sought the help of their elected representatives Seri Delima assemblyperson R Sanisvara Nethaji Rayer and Bukit Gelugor parliamentarian Karpal Singh and the Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman to convince Lim to caveat the land by today.
The state land office registrar is empowered to caveat the land on legal grounds.
The state government has already begun investigation on the Kampung Buah Pala land deal under the land scam.
"This will prevent the developer from demolishing the houses and flattening the village. Lim then could acquire the land on grounds of public interests.
"The residents then can buy the land from the state government. We hope Lim's government can do it for us," said the Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association assistant secretary C Tharmaraj.
Court rules against residents
Yesterday the Federal Court dismissed the villagers' appeal to set aside an earlier Court of Appeal decision.
The country's highest apex court upheld the appellate court's ruling that the villagers have no legal standing to question the transfer of the land from a housing trust to the state government.
The land was subsequently sold for RM3.21 million to the Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang and this led to a lucrative development project undertaken by Umno-linked Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd.
According to the villagers, the sale price - estimated at RM11.33 per sq ft - was far below market value.
The villagers' counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar addressed the issue of legal standing explicitly, going back to the question on whether the state had the power to give the land titles in the first place.
Malik argued that it was the federal government, not the state, which had power over the land.
The developers have argued that these residents, despite living in the village for centuries, have no grounds to sue, and therefore they were deemed squatters.
Justices Augustine Paul, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Hashim Yusoff however ruled in favour of the developers.
Armed with this, the developers could come in any time to demolish the village.
The villagers are already on a round-the-clock high alert guard to stop any demolition work.
Kampung Buah Pala is known among locals as ‘Tamil High Chaparral' because of its population of cowherds, cattles, goats and Tamil traditional cultural features.
For the first time the villagers seem down in their battle to save their village, the last and one remaining Tamil traditional village in Penang.
On Wednesday, a three-man bench Federal Court delivered a devastating blow to the villagers when it dismissed their appeal to save their village from demolition.
Disappointment, disgruntlement and fear have engulfed them.
Now they have pinned all hopes on the wisdom and caring policy of their Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Uthayakumar said recently that the villagers' plight can end with a mere stroke of Lim's pen.
The villagers are praying for that to happen to safeguard their village that the current residents and ancestors have lived for nearly two centuries.
They want Lim to exercise his chief ministerial power under Section 76 of the National Land Code to save their village from scavenging developers.
They have also sought the help of their elected representatives Seri Delima assemblyperson R Sanisvara Nethaji Rayer and Bukit Gelugor parliamentarian Karpal Singh and the Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman to convince Lim to caveat the land by today.
The state land office registrar is empowered to caveat the land on legal grounds.
The state government has already begun investigation on the Kampung Buah Pala land deal under the land scam.
"This will prevent the developer from demolishing the houses and flattening the village. Lim then could acquire the land on grounds of public interests.
"The residents then can buy the land from the state government. We hope Lim's government can do it for us," said the Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association assistant secretary C Tharmaraj.
Court rules against residents
Yesterday the Federal Court dismissed the villagers' appeal to set aside an earlier Court of Appeal decision.
The country's highest apex court upheld the appellate court's ruling that the villagers have no legal standing to question the transfer of the land from a housing trust to the state government.The land was subsequently sold for RM3.21 million to the Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang and this led to a lucrative development project undertaken by Umno-linked Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd.
According to the villagers, the sale price - estimated at RM11.33 per sq ft - was far below market value.
The villagers' counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar addressed the issue of legal standing explicitly, going back to the question on whether the state had the power to give the land titles in the first place.
Malik argued that it was the federal government, not the state, which had power over the land.
The developers have argued that these residents, despite living in the village for centuries, have no grounds to sue, and therefore they were deemed squatters.
Justices Augustine Paul, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Hashim Yusoff however ruled in favour of the developers.
Armed with this, the developers could come in any time to demolish the village.
The villagers are already on a round-the-clock high alert guard to stop any demolition work.Kampung Buah Pala is known among locals as ‘Tamil High Chaparral' because of its population of cowherds, cattles, goats and Tamil traditional cultural features.
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