GEORGE TOWN: Kampung Mutiara, which was awarded the "traditional village" status in 2004, should be preserved at all cost as the site is one of the earliest Malay settlements in Penang.
Penang Malay Association (Pemenang) president Tan Sri Mohd Yusoff Latiff said the history of the site dated to 1821, when then Sultan of Kedah awarded the land to Malays in Kedah who had defended the state during the Siamese invasion.
He said with such a rich history, Pemenang and several other Malay-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were saddened with the fate of the hundreds of villagers, who were recently served with eviction notices.
"As such, we urge the Penang government to resolve the eviction issue once and for all. It is our stand that Kampung Mutiara should be protected as a traditional village.
"It is also our stand that any decisions on the fate of the village should favour its residents. Their interests should be a priority," he told newsmen here today.
It was recently reported that some 350 Kampung Mutiara residents in Batu Ferringhi, had been given a three-month reprieve to vacate their homes based on the eviction order from the court.
The eviction was supposed to be on July 31, but the villagers and Batu Ferringhi residents stayed up all night to prevent the landowner or his representatives from entering the village for the demolition exercise.
The new landowner bought the site in the village in 2006 and the eviction of villagers had been withheld until a fair compensation was given.
Yusoff said Pemenang and other NGOs were not against development, but stressed that any negotiations should favour the villagers and not the landowner.
"We are glad that the state government has given its word that no planning permission will be given to the landowner if the villagers' interests are not properly looked into.
“We hope the state government will continue to impose whatever restriction.
"However, we will continue to push the federal government to buy the land and re-develop it, leaving a space for the existing villagers," he added.