IT is apparent that developers are hell-bent on making a buck at the expense of cultural heritage.

The Penang Government Officers’ Cooperative acquired 2.63ha of state-owned land at High Chaparral, or Kampung Lorong Buah Pala, at RM11 per sq ft, and gave a piece of their land in downtown Penang in exchange.

The cooperative in turn entered into a joint venture with a property developer to develop an ultra-luxury condominium project.

It would be no surprise if the gross sales of the project are in excess of RM1 billion.

As a first step, the Penang government must withdraw any approvals for the project and consider rescinding the development order.

What is the point of owning the land if you cannot develop it? Once the concept of profiteering is taken out of the picture, what is in the public’s interests will come to the fore.

There should also be no issue of compensation to any residents, but only the offer to let them continue staying at their kampung.

Source: NST – July 3, 2009