12 theSun | THRUSDAY SEPTEMBER 3 2009

INTERVIEWS VIEWS

JUST a few days before bull-

dozers showed up at Kampung
Buah Pala last month, in what
turned out to be a failed attempt
to demolish the village, an emo-
tional resident showed me an old
crinkled photograph of her great
The tragedy of
Kampung Buah Pala
grandmother, who had lived in
the settlement about a hundred
years back.
Little would the guileless
young woman with a haunting
expression in the picture have
known that her descendants
would one day have
to fight a pitched bat- ft). The land is esti- The maximum time given for Roots ... A young
tle to defend that very mated to cost about the purchaser to settle the full woman who lived
ancestral land that RM100 a sq ft. amount was three months. The in Brown Estate
she had toiled on. Certainly, the BN cooperative made its first pay- some 100 years
Much has been is answerable as to ment of RM963,000 on March 22, ago. Her great
said about the why the fate of the 2007. But the next payment, of grand-daughter,
Kampung Buah Pala land was decided on RM2.247 million, was collected Mahadevi Muthu,
crisis. But a problem without any consulta- a year later – after Pakatan took 51, faces eviction
in this whole affair is tion with the villag- power – on March 14, 2008. from their
that it is swamped in ers. The cooperative Section 81 of the National ancestral village.
a morass of political
TheNutmeg needs to account for Land Code stipulates that “if any
chest-thumping and Verses why government such sum is not so paid within
technical legalese by Himanshu Bhatt servants who are en- the specified time, the approval
that it is difficult for trusted to administer of the state authority to the al-
the general public to over people’s welfare ienation shall thereupon lapse.”
appreciate, let alone understand, should take away people’s land In other words, the transac-
the intrinsic dilemma of the vil- for themselves for private com- tion would have already been
lagers. mercial profits. null and void – had the govern-
Those who have witnessed But lost amid the headlines ment not agreed to collect the
the audacious stance the villag- and verbal diatribes is a critical payment and revive the deal.
ers put up to protect their homes turning point – one which the That the land was taken away
may better perceive the impulse state government under the from the villagers after the
that drives these descendants Pakatan Rakyat itself failed to premium had lapsed, that the
of planters and cowherds to capitalise on to save the village. villagers lost their homes after
literally face death in such a In March 21 last year, just the transaction had already died,
manner. two weeks after Pakatan won the may well prove to be the most
For the Kampung Buah Pala general election to take power of stinging human rights blunder
villagers are no squatters. The Penang, several villagers met of the Pakatan government to
land they grew up is the only newly-minted Chief Minister date.
home they have known for at Lim Guan Eng at his office, get- Added to this is another key
least five generations. ting assurances that he would factor that has emboldened the
As is well documented, the help them. residents, making them furiously
villagers trace their ancestry to Just a week later on March indignant against any attempt to
indentured labourers brought 28, the state land office issued remove them from their homes
in by the East India Company the title for the land to the coop- – that the High Court had ruled in
to work for the Brown Estate erative. The move effectively put their favour in October last year.
in Penang more than 150 years the villagers under the mercy of The Federal Court of Appeal,
ago. The land later became cat- the new owner and its partner, however, dismissed the villag-
egorised as a vested crown for Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, ers’ case on June 24, on grounds
housing trust. the developer of a condominium that they did not have legitimate
The idyllic life was, however, project. standing or locus standi.
shaken in 2004 and 2005, when Lim has since insisted that the Lim has since arm-twisted On record ...
the previous Barisan Nasional title had to be issued because of Nusmetro to offer a double-storey Kampung Buah
Penang government approved an “administrative procedure”. link house to each household. Pala boys at a
the sale of the land to a coopera- But that now does not seem What has put the residents off is nearby school in from filing any new suits. and to a sole remaining legacy
tive for state government offic- to be completely true. In fact, that the offer would be cancelled Aug 15, 1948. The Certainly, the issue is mired of some of the early pioneers of
ers (Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan state opposition leader Datuk if the proposed project is not photo was printed in many other complications. our land.
Pulau Pinang). Azhar Ibrahim pointed out in approved by the authorities. in the Windsun But the great tragedy of Kam-
What made the deal contro- the last assembly sitting that the They are also required to drop studio at 491 pung Buah Pala may just be
versial was that the sale was premium’s final instalment had all legal actions filed against Penang Road. how rhetoric and politics have Himanshu is theSun’s Penang
passed at a discounted premium exceeded the time limit. Its valid- the cooperative, Nusmetro and distracted from a genuine threat bureau chief. Comments: letters@
of RM3.2 million (or RM10 a sq ity had expired. relevant parties, and to refrain to the human rights of a people, thesundaily.com.

One step forward, two steps back

by Yap Mun Ching
FOR some of us Malay-
sians living in London
this year, we were able
to watch a live parade
on Merdeka Day. By
lucky coincidence,
this Aug 31 turned
out to be the day that
the African-Caribbean
community in West
London celebrates its
annual carnival.
So instead of the
low-key celebrations
in Kuala Lumpur, we
attended the Notting Hill Carnival
to enjoy a blast of colour, pounding
music, irreverent fun and Caribbean
barbecue. Somehow, for a city which
is one of the first to detect transmit-
ted H1N1 cases outside of Mexico,
no similar concerns arose in London
over the possibility of the disease
spreading in crowds. Perhaps the
health fears were carried away
too by the infectious bonhomie,
happiness and good spirit of the
Caribbean community.
While enjoying Caribbean jerk
chicken and coconut juice, our con-
versation took a turn to contemplat-
ing events back home. jarred with the cheerful atmosphere maintained our brand of moderation
Sadly, one of the of our immediate surroundings. and tolerance…The majority does
first comments was Thus, other than my alternative not impose its will on the minor-
by a friend relating her parade experience this year, my ity. There is a thorough process of
experiences discussing Merdeka experience was not a consultation, a process in which
Malaysia with foreign happy one. Last year for Merdeka, all views are taken into account
colleagues. “I don’t I wrote about how we lack an iden- including those of minorities.”
know where to hide tity that defines us as Malaysians Deservedly, he received thun-
my face. People are that we can be proud of and we derous applause not least from
asking me why people can project internationally. From the hundreds of proud Indonesians
are being caned in the news that has filtered abroad, who travelled long distances from
Malaysia for drinking it seems as though nothing has different parts of Britain to hear him
beer or why they are changed and we may have even speak. I remember feeling very envi-
not allowed to attend regressed in this aspect. ous of their great fortune in having
the Black Eyed Peas Our failures are all the more something so defining to be proud
concert. I really don’t evident when compared to the of and in having a leader who com-
know what to say,” she long strides made by one of our mands such international respect.
lamented. Not surprisingly, our closest neighbours. Five months Another thing to miss this year
Western friends were particularly ago, Indonesian President Susilo is work of the inimitable Yasmin
disturbed by news of the cow head Bambang Yudhoyono gave a public Ahmad whose Merdeka Day com-
protest in Shah Alam. Not only did lecture at my university on the side mercials for Petronas were always
it arouse indignation over animal of his G20 meeting. Addressing an looked forward to with much
cruelty but this mutilating act also international and distinguished anticipation. Regardless of crisis or
evoked disbelief and disgust. It may audience, the president spoke with scandal, Yasmin had stayed true to
be the case that the people who pride of Indonesia’s achievements, her mission of spreading a message
cause these embarrassments in particularly its astonishing path of tolerance and harmony. Can we
the first place are forced to back towards political liberalisation. In continue to remind ourselves of all
down later but by now, it is too just 10 years, Indonesia transformed the important things about living
late. The news has already gone from a country suffering political, together?
international and as with many past economic and ethnic crisis to a fully
scandals, they become additional democratic state.
black marks against all Malaysians. In Yudhoyono’s words, “We are Please direct comments to letters@
These thoughts of home certainly a functioning democracy that has thesundaily.com.