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| July 1, 2009 | | Hindraf supporters hold protests to save Penang village | | George Town (Malaysia): A group of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) supporters
gathered
at Komtar, demanding that the Penang Government use its "executive powers" to
save Kampung Buah Pala. About 300 villagers living in Kampung Buah Pala are facing
eviction after a Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer
on June 24. Twenty of them from Kuala Lumpur, Seremban and Penang arrived at the
state administrative building with about 30 villagers yesterday morning to hand
over a letter of appeal to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. In the letter, they expressed
regret over the state government's alleged "broken promises". They also urged
Lim to invoke his powers under the National Land Code and Land Acquisition Act
to stop the developers from levelling the village known as Penang's High Chaparral.
Before the March 2008 general election, there were so many promises but now,
everybody
is keeping quiet. "They tell us to take them to the national-level, but they can't
even handle state problems," said Penang Hindraf coordinator K. Kalaiselvam. Carrying
Hindraf chairman S. Waythamoorthy's seven-year-old daughter Vwaishhnnavi, who
held the handwritten letter of appeal addressed to Lim, Kalaiselvam led the delegation
that arrived at Komtar at about 10.40am. The group had a brief confrontation with
Komtar security guards who instructed them to choose five representatives to hand
over the letter, but 10 were eventually allowed to enter and meet Lim's political
secretary Ng Wei Aik. Ng, who then instructed the police to allow the entire group
in, addressed them, but tempers flared when they were informed that Lim had other
appointments. The villagers' claim that DAP and PKR representatives had promised
their village would be spared if Pakatan took over the state in the last general
election.
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Leading
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