10 theSun | FRIDAY MAY 8 2009

news without borders

Penang to hand over

land deal papers to MACC
GEORGE TOWN: The Pen-
ang state government will
hand over all documents on
the Tang Hak Ju case to the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC).
In a statement yesterday,
Penang Chief Minister Lim
Guan Eng said the state has
approved MACC’s application
to obtain the documents.
“I have instructed state
secretary Datuk Zainal Ra-
him Seman, with the help
of the state legal adviser,
to provide the documents
requested by the MACC,” he
said.
The documents to be
handed over are minutes
of meetings by the special
investigation committee set
up to review the Tang Hak
Ju case and all the state land
committee meeting minutes
between April 2008 and
March 2009.
The MACC had requested
for the documents to enable
an investigation into a cor-
ruption report lodged last
month.
Lim said the Special
Investigation Committee
into the case was formed im-
mediately after the new state
government found out about
the deal which could cost the
state up to RM40 million.
The committee, chaired
by Deputy Chief Minister II
Prof Dr P. Ramasamy, was
to investigate and identify
the person responsible for
the land scandal and why no
punishment or action was
taken against those involved.
It was also to identify
weaknesses in the procedures
and systems that would have
allowed such a scandal to
happen and ways to over-
come it so that there would
not be a repeat.
“The state government
does not dispute the merit of
the court case; we are now
only looking at appealing to
the court for the compensa-
tion sum to be reduced.”
Lim said if the state gov-
ernment failed in its appeal,
it will be faced with a loss of
RM40 million.
In the land deal, a private
plot owned by a Chinese tem-
ple in Mukim 20, Seberang
Perai Tengah district was
leased out to Tang as state-
owned land for him to carry
out quarry activities.
Tang paid RM354,473
in land premium to lease
the land and when the real
landowner stopped him from
carrying out his quarry op-
erations, Tang sued the state
government.
In a letter dated July
1, 2004, Tang demanded
RM1.855 million in compen-
sation and also replacement
land in Juru as out-of-court
settlement. The state govern-
ment turned down the settle-
ment and decided to let the
court decide.

Police arrest two over

fake robbery at bank
GEORGE TOWN: Police have arrest-
ed two men, including a 28-year-old
employee of a company dealing with
money transfers (Western Union), for
allegedly staging a fake robbery at a
CIMB bank branch in Prangin Mall
here last Sunday.
The employee had lodged a police
report that he had been robbed of a
bag containing RM79,000 that he was
carrying from his office to be depos-
ited into the bank.
The incident, in which the thief
In praise escaped with an accomplice on a
of motorcycle, was, however, believed
mothers to have been pre-arranged.
George Town OCPD Asst Comm
pg 15 Azam Abdul Hamid said police
became suspicious after taking a
statement from the employee and
upon interrogation found he was also
involved in the crime.
“We also found out that the mas-
termind behind the fake robbery was
in Taiping,” he said.
Based on information and surveil-
lance, police arrested another suspect,
aged 33, at his house in Taiping,
where a total of RM14,000 in cash was
recovered, on Monday.
“We are looking for two other men
who were involved,” Azam said.
The case is being investigated for
theft under Section 379 of the Penal
Code. Azam also advised transaction
company employers to be cautious
when asking workers to deposit
money in banks.
In another case, Azam said the
police have crippled a car theft syn-
dicate, which has been active since
2008, with the arrest of five men on
April 11.
Four cars reported stolen and car-
jacking tools were also seized.
On another matter, Azam said
the wives and son of the 41-year-old
father charged with murdering and
burying his seven-year-old daughter
in Bandar Baru Ayer Itam were re-
leased on police bail on Tuesday.
The two wives, aged 37 and 31,
were detained last Thursday while
the 16-year-old boy was picked up
last Friday, to assist in investiga-
tions.

Heritage Trust: Don’t replace

funicular railway
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Hill’s
funicular railway is one of
Penang’s most famous heritage
landmarks and replacing it with
a modern system is unneces-
sary and irresponsible, said
Penang Heritage Trust (PHT).
The organisation said yes-
terday the train is an engineer-
ing classic that has been in use
since 1923.
It said the funicular railway
draws thousands of visitors
from Malaysia and the world to
experience travelling on a form
of transport comparable to the
trams of San Francisco.
“The main justification for
destroying the old funicular
railway seems to be that it
takes too long for passengers to
reach the top of the hill because
of the necessity of changing
trains at Middle Station.
“This makes no sense as no-
body takes the train up Penang
Hill because they want to get to
the top in a hurry,” it stated.
PHT said replacing the
present double system with
a single system that will only
reduce travel time by about 10
minutes will deny passengers
a chance to pause at Middle
Station to admire the view and
marvel at how the funicular
works.
Another reason for replac-
ing the system is due to the
frequent breakdowns caused
by worn or broken cables.
PHT said the problem of
breakdowns will not be resolved
by a new railway and what is
needed is proper maintenance
of the tracks, cables and sup-
port structures.
“This would cost much less
than the projected RM40 million
to build a new railway,” it said.
It said the decision to remove
the heritage railway just after
George Town was inscribed as
a Unesco World Heritage Site
shows a lack of appreciation of
the importance of the funicular
to the heritage site.
It urged the federal and state
governments to protect and
maintain the legacy of Penang
and called for a public forum on
the future of the railway before
any action is taken.