GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government should stop the high-handed action of bullying local communities in Penang by shoving "development" projects in their areas without prior consultation with them.
The latest being the approval of huge workers' hostel in Teluk Kumbar.
According to Penang Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)'s vice chairman Ravinder Singh, the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 is very clear that development is for the people, for the betterment of their communities, and that the people must be consulted before any projects are approved in their communities.
He said the law does not give the state government powers to ride roughshod over the local communities.
"The importance of prior consultation with the communities where projects are proposed was stressed by the Federal Court in its judgement in the Sungai Ara Hill development case.
"The state government should not thumb its nose at the law. It is not above the law. The Federal Court judgement makes it very clear.
"But we see the state government is so eager to approve whatever 'development' projects proposed by developers, wherever they are located. There is no law that says all projects proposed by developers must be approved at any cost.
"But the government is arrogantly bending backwards to help developers, as in the Sungai Ara Hill development case," he said today.
Ravinder said the Teluk Kumbar hostel is now said to be for 32,680 foreign workers. At one time, it was said to be for 45,000 foreign workers.
"Do the 15,000 locals agree to be overwhelmed by two to three times the number of foreigners to be brought into their community by the government?
"Is this a subtle strategy to drive the locals out of Teluk Kumbar by making them so uncomfortable living in a foreigner majority area?
"Teluk Kumbar will then literally become 'Bandar Baru Teluk Kumbar, Bandar Maharajalela Pekerja Asing'," he added.
Ravinder said both the Balik Pulau member of parliament Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik and Bayan Lepas assemblyman Datuk Azrul Mahathir Aziz had voiced objections but they were ignored.
It was recently reported that the Penang government had approved two applications for the construction of foreign workers' dormitories in Teluk Kumbar.
State Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman H'ng Mooi Lye said based on the approval that had been certified by the Penang State Planning Committee, an estimated 32,680 foreign workers would be placed in the Teluk Kumbar area.
Ravinder said H'ng had previously said that the government had to identify suitable land that could accommodate this kind of projects in "the interest of the developer appointed to helm this project.
H'ng had also said that such projects could potentially only be decided based on the needs of the industries.
"This shows an arrogant attitude. Let us remind him that this is not what the law says.
"The law puts the interests of the local communities first. The government has no right to bully local communities to accommodate needs of the industries," he said.
Ravinder said the best place for the workers' hostel to be sited was in Batu Kawan, far away from any residential area.