GEORGE TOWN: An independent MP has proposed that a golf course which sits on a state-owned land in Bukit Jambul here should be relocated so that the land can be used for a housing project.

Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohd Hashim said such a move would benefit some 5,000 poverty-stricken people living across the golf course in Kampung Sungai Nibong Kecil.

“It is ironic that these people have to live in poor conditions while across the road, there is a golf course serving only the purpose of some 2,000 golfers.

“The state government should do something about this. We need more houses for the poor. I have been proposing this when I was with PKR but it was shot down,” he said yesterday.

Zahrain told reporters after presenting RM9,000 to families who lost their homes to a fire which destroyed seven houses in Kampung Sungai Nibong Kechil here on Wednesday.

The golf course which is being referred to is the Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) operated by Island Golf Properties Bhd (IGP) and owned by Penang Development Corporation (PDC).

SOURCE: The Star

This is part of BM Residence project by Tambun Indah in Bukit Mertajam.

2-storey Semi-detached

• Land area : 34′ X 84′ (standard lot)
• Built up area : 24′ X 45′
• 11′ backyard
• 4 + 1 bedrooms

3-storey Terrace

•  Land area : 20′ X 70′
• Built up area : 20′ X 43′
• 4′ backyard
• 2 master bedroom

– 5 minutes to BM town.
– 10 minutes to SMJK Jit Sin, 5 minutes to SRK Keow Kuang.
– 15 minutes to North-South Highway, Penang Bridge, Auto City.
– 3 minutes to Bukit Do (recreation park), & swimming pool (stadium)
– Food court, banks, shopping malls like Jaya Jusco, Pacific Megamall, Sunway Carnival is in the vicinity.

Property Project : BM Residence
Location : Bukit Mertajam, Penang
Property Type : 3-Storey Terrace & 2-Storey Semi-D
Tenure : Freehold
Developer : Tambun Indah
Indicative Price: RM 440,000 onwards

PROPERTY developers should channel funds into a common pool for the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) to appoint independent consultants for traffic impact studies.

MPPP councillor Dr Lim Mah Hui said that the studies up to now have been quite ineffective because consultants were appointed by individual developers.

“We should consider a new system for independent consultants to take an integrated rather than piecemeal approach,” he told a full council meeting yesterday.

Dr Lim said that Penang would end up like Hong Kong with high-density development and over-crowding without the public infrastructure to support it if high-rise buildings were conti-nually being approved and if developers continued to buy up every piece of available property to build to the maximum density ratio.

“I’m not against development. What we need to ask is what type of development — is it rampant and unbalanced, or is it sustainable and balanced?

“I’m afraid our concept of development is simply too property-centric,” he added.

Dr Lim also said that it was the responsibility of the state — politicians, councillors, civil servants and policy makers — to provide the checks and balances, to protect public interest and come up with sensible policies to ensure sustainable development.

Meanwhile, the MPPP financial management sub-committee proposed increasing compounds issued to offenders who were not civic-conscious.

Its alternate chairman Tan Hun Wooi said that the committee proposed to increase the compounds by 100%.

“Examples of errant behaviour include hawkers who smoke while cooking or those who throw rubbish into the drain,” he said.

MPPP Public Health standing committee alternate chairman Ong Ah Teong said the commit- tee approved a 30% reduction on stall rentals at the market complex at Lintang Macallum 2, Ocean View hawker complex and the stalls on the upper floor of the Bayan Baru market complex beginning this month until July next year.

SOURCE: The Star

RESIDENTS of Desa Green flats in Penang are frustrated with a fellow resident who has installed a flue outside his unit, causing smoke to travel to the other units.

Desa Green management committee chairman Krishnamoorthy Muthuveloo, who spoke on behalf of the residents, said they tried to get the owner to remove the flue without success.

?I have written to the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) from the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) Valuation and Property Management department regarding this matter but they have not taken any action apart from issuing several warning letters,? he said.

Krishnamoorthy said the COB sent letters dated Jan 17 and March 8 to the flat owner asking him to remove the flue, each time giving him two weeks to do so, which he ignored.

?These letters were also forwarded to me,? he said.

?On March 29, the flat owner sent me a letter saying that he had permission from the previous committee and I would have to face the consequences if I removed the flue.?

Krishnamoorthy said he also wrote to the previous committee asking for details of the members and why permission was given, but received no reply.

?On April 14, the COB sent a reminder to the flat owner stating that flues are not allowed in flats under the Third Schedule of the Strata Titles Act 1985, and the management committee had the authority to enforce minor laws or rules with regard to their building.

?Later that day, I received a letter from his lawyers stating that the owner have permiss ion to install the flue,? he said.

Krishnamoorthy said he was elected by the residents to resolve the matter peacefully.

?If I remove it myself, it may cause ill-will among us as we live in the same area. I want to solve this matter amicably.

?A lady living in one of the units has also shown me a doctor?s letter confirming that she has a skin reaction resulting from the smoke from the flue. I hope this matter can be solved as soon as possible,? he said.

Penang MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau deputy chief Lim Thoon Deong said that he had contacted the MPPP about the issue and was told that the council was ?looking into it? and needed to ?refer to higher authority?.

?I urge the COB to quickly resolve this matter. They should send some officers to visit this unit and inspect the matter themselves. It is not fair for the committee to remove the flue without the COB,? he said.

SOURCE: The Star

Kuala Lumpur: Conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd has agreed to buy 30 per cent of Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O), a developer with large projects on Penang island, sources said.

Sime will buy the shares from two parties, believed to be GK Goh Holdings Ltd and Puan Sri Nik Anida Nik Manshor, the wife of Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah.

Based on the latest Bursa Malaysia filings, Nik Anida has an indirect stake of 11.86 per cent while GK Goh Holdings Ltd holds another 11.23 per cent.

Sources said E&O will also issue new shares to Sime. In total, Sime is expected to own 30 per cent of the property developer.

"It is unsure how much the deal is worth. But rumour was that Sime wanted to buy at more than RM2, but the sellers then were not willing to sell. With the current global economic landscape, they may have changed their minds," said a source.

The deal will allow Sime to recognise part of E&O's earnings, but more importantly, it gives Sime the opportunity to take part in the much talked-about Seri Tanjung Pinang 2 project.

That project involves reclaiming 740 acres of land in Tanjung Tokong to develop two islands for mixed development projects. The project has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM12 billion.

Yesterday, trading in E&O and GK Goh Holdings Ltd shares were suspended. However, Sime shares were not halted.

Shares of E&O rose 1.4 per cent on Thursday to RM1.45. Over the past 30 days, its shares closed at a high of RM1.70 and a low of RM1.38. On average, it was traded at RM1.38, with a volume of 10.6 million shares daily.

Sime stocks ended unchanged at RM8.80.

Since May, major shareholders of E&O have been accumulating the stock. During the period, Nik Anida has expanded her indirect stake to 11.86 per cent from 9.09 per cent.

AmBank group chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim had also been on a shopping spree during the period. He raised his stake to 6.25 per cent from 5.1 per cent.

SOURCE: Business Times