Penang Watch

Thursday June 12, 2008(Star)
RM3mil needed to solve road closure woes

THE Penang Government may have to pay some RM3mil to a developer to acquire land back to reopen a road in Taman Belimbing Jaya, Bukit Tengah.

Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy said the stretch, which the developer temporarily closed to traffic since last month, has caused 15 households to lose access to Jalan Bukit Minyak.

He said officers from the relevant authorities who met at the Seberang Prai Municipal Council headquarters in Bukit Mertajam yesterday had proposed two options to resolve the matter.

“The first option is for the state government to acquire back the stretch, which the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) had earlier sold to the developer.

“This way, the residents will get back their access road. But, the move will affect nine houses which are under construction,” he told reporters after attending the meeting.

Ramasamy said the second option was for the residents to accept the 2km-long alternative road, which the developer had built for them to gain access to Jalan Bukit Minyak.

“For the time being, we have asked the developer to indefinitely suspend all construction work at the site until an amicable solution is reached.

“I will wait for the council to prepare a detailed report before presenting it to the state exco for a decision,” he said.

Council president Farizan Darus chaired the three-hour meeting which was also attended by representatives from the state land office, PDC and the developer.

Urging the residents to be patient, Ramasamy said this was his fourth meeting since the matter was brought to his attention.

“We are not blaming the residents for raising the matter. This was an oversight by the authorities under the previous state administration,” he said.

On Tuesday, several residents from the housing scheme blocked Farizan’s four-wheel drive after they were dissatisfied with his ex-planation on the road closure.

In the 10.30am incident, four cars blocked Farizan’s 4WD, preventing him from leaving the narrow Lorong Belimbing Jaya.

Farizan, who was trapped there for 10 minutes, abandoned his 4WD and walked to a junction nearby to get into his official car to return to the office.

He also claimed that someone pelted stones on his 4WD, but it failed to shatter the side window.