Boustead Holdings Bhd should respect Unesco World Heritage Zone guidelines for Penang and not seek compensation from the state government for simply enforcing compliance, said a PKR rep.

Pantai Jerejak state assemblyperson Sim Tze Tzin slammed Boustead for allegedly forcing the state into a settlement that involved giving the “corporate giant closely linked to Umno” rights to reclaim swathes of coastal land.

According to Sim, the state had required the company to limit its Royal Bintang Hotel project, approved under the previous BN administration as a high-rise hotel, to a maximum of 18m - five floors from its original 13 - in accordance with the new guidelines enforced after Georgetown obtained its Unesco Heritage Status in July 2008.

“As a result, the current state government under the leadership of (Chief Minister) Lim Guan Eng was forced to negotiate a settlement with Boustead.

“Failing to do so, the state is at risk of facing law suits amounting to hundred of millions of ringgit,” said Sim in a statement today.

He said it was unreasonable and disrespectful of Boustead to demand compensation from the state for simply requiring compliance with Unesco guidelines.

“It is utterly greedy for some corporation to calculate losses and threaten to sue the state government for hundreds of millions of ringgit simply for adhering to Unesco guidelines.

“It is equally unscrupulous to force the state government to compensate them by reclaiming large tracts of land to cover their losses,” he said, adding that Boustead had a responsibility to the residents of Penang.
                        
‘CM should not give in’

According to a report by The Edge in September, the state was in negotiations to compensate Boustead over rights to reclaim land along the Penang coast south of the Penang Bridge for development.

Residents in the affected areas of Putra Marine, Gold Coast, Bay Garden and the surrounding communities, however, are unhappy with the reclamation project, said Sim, who is the state representative for the affected areas.
                        
The PKR assemblyperson had raised the matter in Parliament in May and had also raised the residents’ objections with the CM over five times.

“I have also arranged two meetings for the RA with the Chief Minister. At those meetings, the residents have repeatedly expressed their objection to the CM.

“I hope the chief minister will stand firm and not succumb to the pressure from a corporate giant,” he said.