A 27-storey commercial building approved by the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) in the heart of Pulau Tikus is becoming another headache for the state government.

Local NGO Chant Awareness spokesperson Yan Lee said it is starting a petition to get the ‘Moulmein Rise' project, sited on a plot of private land to be halted or reviewed.

NONEThe petition - to collect hundreds of signatures in one month - will be handed over to the MPPP and Pulau Tikus assemblyperson Koay Teng Hai (right).

However, it is not certain whether the petition would be successful as last Sunday, Lee had organised a small protest around the area which had been chided by traders on the scene.

The unhappy hawkers had shouted at the NGO, telling its protesters to leave when they started to display a banner rejecting the project near the site which used to be an open-air car park.

A fruit seller shouted at the group, accusing them of being "outsiders who had no business protesting in an area where they don't live or work".

"They should go away, what they are doing right now is affecting our business," the angry hawker, who declined to be named, had said.

"Of course, now it's under construction so it is troublesome, but once it is completed, everything will be business as usual," he stressed.

A resident, Cheah Chin Hooi, revealed that the project had been approved many years ago during the Barisan Nasional administration.

"We already raised objections with our Pulau Tikus assemblyperson at that time, Dr Teng Hock Nan, but nothing came out of it and it was approved," he claimed.

He added that it is now too late to object, but said it was good enough that the developer had promised to allocate a space for public parking.

‘The angriest-looking man'

The protesters, however, said that the previous BN administration had actually rejected the project, which was supposed to be a 17-storey mixed development.

Another resident, CK Tan, claimed that "my right to object was taken away from me".

"Then they rubbed salt into the wound and let the developer build (a construction) even higher than the plan that was rejected," he was quoted as saying in The Star.

The newspaper had described Tan as "probably the angriest-looking man at the protest".

The English-language daily stated that wealthy businessperson Jho Lo, whose grandmother lives nearby the area, had joined the protest as well.

When asked about those who rejected the protest, Lee said he was not aware of the response against the group, as no one had objected when he had made his speech.

He claimed that some of the traders may be trading illegally in the area, adding that he had heard about their reaction in the newspapers, which he claimed did not report the incident accurately.

"We spoke to the hawkers association and they were the ones who told us that the traders are not happy with the development and congestion around the place," said Lee.

Lee stressed that the project was approved without care and concern for the comfort and safety of the residents.

"The approval of the building did not take into account the issues of open space for residents, public car parking (areas), and density," he told Malaysiakini.

NONE"It does not even comply with the requirements of open space and affordable housing," he noted.

So far, the NGO has not approached Koay or the MPPP.

State executive councillor in charge of local government, Chow Kon Yeow (right), said the MPPP was looking into the matter to see how best to address the concerns of the residents.

He clarified that the plot where piling work has begun for the building was not originally a car park, but a piece of private property that was temporarily used for that purpose.

"The developer has plans to provide a public car park in the basement of the building. We are now looking into arrangements to resolve the issue."

Developer Belleview Group managing director Sunny Ho told the media that a 90-lot public basement car park would be built in the building that comprises a four-level condominium and 84 commercial suites.

State BN coordinator for Pulau Tikus, Rowena Yam, said one must ask why the traders had rejected the protest in the first place.

"Is it because they feel they cannot do anything any more? They must know that they can still do something, they must not give up," she added when met on Sunday.