PUTRAJAYA (June 12, 2013): The Tourism and Culture Ministry will take SRK (C) Chin Woo – located in Jalan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur – to court if it cannot get its land back from the school.
Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the ministry has made a firm stand on the matter.
"It is our land, and it is the right of any land owner to take their land back. They would do the same if we encroached on their land," he told a press conference today.
Nazri was commenting on a stalemate over a 0.13ha (15,000 sq ft) plot of government land, which has been occupied by the school since 1938.
"We have held many discussions and I have made the decision that if this issue is not resolved, we will take the school to court and let the court decide," Nazri said.
The ministry wants to use the land as part of its RM32.5 million Kota Warisan Kuala Lumpur project as a cultural village.
The cultural village project, approved in concept by the cabinet in 2007, involves the building of an auditorium, a six-storey complex and a restaurant on 3.24ha of land.
The Kota Warisan project is a joint development venture between the Tourism Ministry and Enfiniti Productions Sdn Bhd.
However, the project met with strong objections from the school board on grounds that it would have to give up land for the project construction.
The Chin Woo board reportedly argued that the school had received the approval of the then British government of colonial Malaya to occupy the land on which stands its school walls, two basketball courts and its garden.
The ministry, however, claims the school was encroaching upon government land.
The school has been in talks with the Kota Warisan project developer since last year to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, Nazri announced that there was an increase in the number of tourists arrivals in the first quarter of this year compared to 2012.
"Malaysia recorded an overall growth of 15.9% with 6.4 million tourists in the first quarter of this year compared to 5.6 million tourists in 2012.
"Tourist spending for 2012 also grew by 16.7% generating RM14.99 billion in revenue for the country as compared to RM12.84 billion in 2011," said Nazri.
The higher tourist volume was atttributed to the increased number of flights, especially long-haul flights, by low-cost airlines.
Nazri also announced the third annual "Magic of the Night" event to be held in Putrajaya from June 22 to 30, in conjunction with the Putrajaya Flower and Garden Festival.
It will feature 14 lighted boats from organisations and state governments each featuring tourism attractions of their respective bodies. Also to be featured is an entry from Suzhou, China.
"We will use this event to promote tourism in Malaysia by inviting media and organisations from other countries, in preparation for Visit Malaysia Year 2014.
"As for (opposition-run states) Selangor, Penang and Kelantan which are not taking part in the event, it is their choice. We have invited them," he added.
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From Malaysia-Today :
The Chinese in Pulau Pinang when it was under Barisan Nasional had clout, and had then protested vehemently when the government wanted to construct a new international airport in Alor Setar, Kedah.
The Chinese in Pulau Pinang feared if this happened, the economy of the state would go bust.
But what they did not realize was that without the construction of the airport, the economy of Kedah would go bust.
They did not care about Kedah; they only cared about themselves.
And what this also meant was that they only cared for the well-being of the Chinese in Pulau Pinang who then formed the majority in the state.
They did not care about the well-being of the Melayu in Kedah who formed the majority in this state.
The Chinese in Pulau Pinang did not care what the government had done to the state to give it a higher economic profile all these years, that had allowed the state to develop.
They did it at the expense of Kedah and the Melayu.
But then, Pulau Pinang was a stronghold of the Malaysian-Chinese Association and Parti Gerakan Rakyat or Gerakan, so the government had to take heed of what they wanted, and got it.
So Kedah was left behind economically without the airport. It only has a small airport for domestic use.
But now Pulau Pinang has gone to the opposition.
Having done much to the state by the government, the majority of the Chinese in this state chose to vote opposition. It was a wise move.
But it can also be a stupid move. How? If the government revisits the idea of developing a new international airport in Alor Setar and turn Kedah into a new economic powerhouse in the north of the Melayu Peninsula.
If this can be done, Pulau Pinang can go bust.
It must be allowed to go bust since the people there do not deserve to be given any preferential treatment over the others, who are the Melayu in Kedah who had to suffer just to accommodate the interests of the Chinese in Pulau Pinang who now have to depend on the Democratic Action Party or DAP for their own economic survival.
The Chinese there did not care who had caused the state to develop. They only care who should govern the state, now that it has developed. They chose an almost Chinese-majority party who do not care for the well-being of the Melayu.
There is no doubt that the Chinese in Pulau Pinang had made a grave mistake for voting opposition as it can backfire only if the government and especially Umno know how to go about solving the matter, i.e. by constructing a new and larger international airport in Alor Setar and turn Kedah into a new economic powerhouse.
After all, the people of Kedah who had also tried their luck by voting for PAS now realize their own folly by turning their backs against them in the last general elections.
So it is time for Kedah to be given some preferential treatment and to allow the state to develop and directly compete with Pulau Pinang.
Have those in Umno and the Melayu in Kedah forgotten how the Chinese in Pulau Pinang threatened not to support Barisan if the airport was built?
Have the Melayu in Kedah also forgotten how the Chinese in Pulau Pinang did not care for their well-being but only for the well-being of the Chinese in Pulau Pinang?
Those in Pulau Pinang only wanted Kedah and the Melayu majority there to suffer just to allow Pulau Pinang to continue to prosper.
Now that the threat of the Chinese in Pulau Pinang has been released, by them having voted DAP en masse, maybe it is the right time for the Kedah and government to construct the international airport in Alor Setar to spur its economic growth.
So it was good for the Chinese in Pulau Pinang to give the state to DAP so that Kedah can now go on their own way and develop itself, and by doing so can also cause Pulau Pinang to have stiff competition that it did not want to see as the Melayu in Kedah were too innocent to believe that the Chinese in Pulau Pinang would continue to vote Barisan if Kedah chose to remain backward.
Even when Kedah was given to PAS, the PAS government did not do anything to the state, and allowed it to stagnate.
Now that the people of Kedah are smarter and returned the state to Barisan, it is the right time for them to give Pulau Pinang a run for their money and see if DAP is good for Pulau Pinang, that the Chinese there thought they were, now that the DAP are in their second term as government of the state.
Pulau Pinang’s economic growth therefore can be said to be dependent on the state of the economy of Kedah, who chose to remain backward simply to look after the interests of the Chinese in Pulau Pinang.
Now that the tables have been changed, maybe the state of the economy of Pulau Pinang too must be changed.
Kedah cannot suffer because they want Pulau Pinang to prosper.
Pulau Pinang must be strong enough to face competition from Kedah so that the DAP can prove to its voters that they are deserving leaders, and their choice to vote them in was not wrong.
Kedah can prove this to be wrong, for them to go for DAP.
[Written by Mansor Puteh]
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From Malaysiakini :
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has dismissed claims that the Kedah state government should start imposing raw water charges on Penang because the latter is drawing raw water from Kedah's rivers.
Guan Eng said in a statement today that the Penang Water Supply Authority (PBAPP) is drawing raw water from the Penang side of the Muda River, which does not cross into Kedah.
"Firstly, Kedah is not supplying raw water to Penang. The Muda River flows through Penang naturally. We draw water from the river ourselves using our own water supply infrastructure, at our own cost," he said.
"Secondly, the Muda River is a natural water resource and not a man-made project like the Johor-Malacca water transfer scheme. Why do we have to pay for drawing water from a natural resource that has been flowing through our state for centuries?" he asked.
He was responding to comments made by Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Mahdzir Khalid (right), who had recently said there was a strong case for the Kedah state government to start charging Penang for raw water.
Mahdzir had used the Johor-Malacca water transfer scheme, where Johor charges Malacca for drawing water from Johor, as an example.
But Guan Eng said that the Johor-Malacca example does not apply to Penang and Kedah.
"Penang drawing water from Sungai Muda inside Penang's borders is not like Johor pumping water from inside Johor's borders into Malacca," Guan Eng said.
Previously, the PAS-led Kedah state government between 2008 to 2013 had also mooted charging Penang for raw water but the suggestion was also shot down by Guan Eng.
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From Malaysiakini :
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has dismissed claims that the Kedah state government should start imposing raw water charges on Penang because the latter is drawing raw water from Kedah's rivers.
Guan Eng said in a statement today that the Penang Water Supply Authority (PBAPP) is drawing raw water from the Penang side of the Muda River, which does not cross into Kedah.
"Firstly, Kedah is not supplying raw water to Penang. The Muda River flows through Penang naturally. We draw water from the river ourselves using our own water supply infrastructure, at our own cost," he said.
"Secondly, the Muda River is a natural water resource and not a man-made project like the Johor-Malacca water transfer scheme. Why do we have to pay for drawing water from a natural resource that has been flowing through our state for centuries?" he asked.
He was responding to comments made by Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Mahdzir Khalid (right), who had recently said there was a strong case for the Kedah state government to start charging Penang for raw water.Mahdzir had used the Johor-Malacca water transfer scheme, where Johor charges Malacca for drawing water from Johor, as an example.
But Guan Eng said that the Johor-Malacca example does not apply to Penang and Kedah.
"Penang drawing water from Sungai Muda inside Penang's borders is not like Johor pumping water from inside Johor's borders into Malacca," Guan Eng said.
Previously, the PAS-led Kedah state government between 2008 to 2013 had also mooted charging Penang for raw water but the suggestion was also shot down by Guan Eng.
