Kudos to the Penang Appeals Board for a very firm decision in defending its stay order over this controversial project. MBPP has been put in its rightful place and must not only pay the fine but must govern Penang wisely for the betterment of Penangites!


By Opalyn Mok, Malay Mail


GEORGE TOWN, April 13 — The Penang Appeals Board ordered the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) today to pay RM35,000 in total costs after telling it off for appealing against the board’s stay order over a high rise project in Tanjung Pinang off Tanjung Tokong.

The coast off the island in the background (where the high rises are) is marked for the proposed Sri Tanjung Pinang II reclamation project that will cover 706 acres. — Picture by K.E. Ooi 

The board chairman Datuk Yeo Yang Poh ordered MBPP to pay costs of RM20,000 to the appellants and RM15,000 to the planning applicant.

“The board has powers to grant stay orders as provided under Section 23(3) and Section 36(10)(g) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976,” he said as he rejected MBPP’s submissions that the board did not have the power to order a stay.

The board had granted the appellants, consisting of residents of Seri Tanjung Pinang, a stay order on the planning permission for the project, City Of Dreams, which is made of two 39-storey condominium blocks.

MBPP, in its appeal against the stay order, submitted that the board did not have the power to grant stay orders.It also argued that the board did not need to take public interest into account when making such decisions.


Yeo labelled the council’s submission that the board do not need to take public interest into account as “absurd”.

“It defies common sense as matters of public interest is certainly relevant in the function of the board,” he said.

He said all aspects of the planning law was in the interest of the public and that it was the board’s responsibility to take into account public interest.

He pointed out that the issue of the board not having the power to grant stay orders based on public interest has never been raised since its formation in 1989.

“I am surprised that the respondent as a public authority could take up such an issue and present such points without putting enough work in it,” he said.

Yeo criticised MPPP’s arguments, saying the council did not appear to have made any effort to understand the case before submitting an appeal against the stay order.

“It is worrying that the respondent doesn’t seem to understand what transpired in this case,” he said.

He said the council’s pursuit of the case does not sit well with its role as a public authority especially when it has a duty to safeguard public interest.

Yeo later extended the stay order against the planning permission until the next decision date to be fixed later.

The planning applicant, Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd, is only allowed to do piling works and works necessary for piling for the project.

It had initially obtained planning approval for the project in March 2015 before the board granted the appellants a stay order against the project late last year.-

Sourcehttp://m.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/penang-board-chides-council-for-appealing-against-condo-project-orders-it-t#sthash.roDAaOsK.dpuf

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Lim Li Lian
De Facto Spokesperson of a dog activist coalition
Stop Killing Start Vaccination (SKSV)

Attn: Dr Afif, Health Exco of Penang.

Your duty is to the rakyat who voted you in, please do take the time to at least send some kind of acknowledgement or reply.

I was pregnant and in my first trimester when I volunteered as PACABA for PKR. I was very tired, I took my grandparents out in the morning to vote and I even skipped lunch so that I would be ready for my shift hour. I was lobbying so many people behind the scenes leading up to elections, giving my time, my money and my heart towards the effort. And when they lost, I cried so many tears of sadness. I signed petitions, I lobbied people. I attended Bersih. I sacrificed many hours for the cause, although I am a single working mum, and taking care of my grandparents.

Now, after they are in power, when there is a real issue at hand, to be rewarded by stony silence, politics, indifference and unfair statements in the press by Penang State government officials, is just very disappointing. Even DVS, a Federal Agency that I am cooperating with in this rabies issue, treats us infinitely better.

LGE asks us to go and vote for BN if we are dissatisfied. Is this how you treat your loyal supporters? We have very right to question why you are not following WHO protocol. We never said we don't support you, but don't we have a right to ask questions? Or are we supposed to just agree with everything you say blindly? If you would rather lead sheep, then I am definitely not one.

After you've got the votes, you start passing through projects that do nothing to benefit Penang: land reclamation, tunnels, etc. If they aren't benefiting Penang, then who are they benefiting?

At meeting at KOMTAR with LGE, I presented him with all the research from WHO outlining why vaccinating the dogs protects human health, and why WHO always recommends vaccination of dogs, because it is more effective and cheaper than vaccinating all humans. Mountains of evidence and proof. Do you know what he told me? He told me to go and convince DVS. I told him "Since you have all the research here, why can't you go and convince DVS yourself? Why does it have to be me?"

So many of his YB's who were also present told me that I should consider myself lucky that the State allows me to speak with DVS. I asked them, "can't you read for yourself what it states on WHO website? Isn't this your job? You are the policymakers. Not me!!!"

You should all be very ashamed of yourselves. So many people all around Malaysia and Malaysians all over the world have sacrificed SO MUCH for the opposition. People have gone to jail, people have been censured, you yourself sacrificed. Have a little more respect, please. Have a think about how your actions are destroying what opposition has built up over the years. You are showing us that PKR and DAP actually have the same attitudes as BN.

Penang is being destroyed in many ways. It is the current administration that changed the plot ratios so that more high-rises could be built at housing areas. Now we are left with super luxury accommodation everywhere that no ordinary Penangite can afford. If you are so CAT, then please release data on what you do to the strays that you catch at the pound. Release data on housing occupancy rates in Penang. It is this administration who changed the zoning of many areas to allow for more rampant development, vanity projects and overcapacity.

It is sad that your most ardent supporters are now the ones most disappointed in you. You even threatened some animal NGOs who are here on MM2H to be careful of their activities. These are people who have been helping you selflessly to achieve your 0 stray policy by keeping dogs off the streets and rehoming them. And you threaten them if they dare to question your policy.

Many times I thought about leaving Penang. But after careful consideration, I won't. I was born and bred here. My family and friends are here. it is not me who should leave. It is you, all of you, who should leave.

I am not a supporter of BN but I am no fool either. Not supporting BN doesn't mean I will support you. In fact, I am hoping that by all this pressure you will do a better job and be the party that is worthy of our votes.

Official letter SKSV sent to Dr Afif to which he replied with nothing:

Dear Dr Afif,

ADOPTION FROM MBPP DOG POUND

We know you are busy attending to other important matters and thank you for your kind attention to this letter.

2. With regards to the subject matter, we at SKSV would like to report two recent occassions where volunteers from various NGOs were denied access into MBPP dog pound to do their regular work of rescuing the strays there. One occurred on 19th October, at around 10am and another on 20th October at around 2pm.

3. On both occassions, volunteers were informed by MBPP staff that they were no longer allowed access into the dog pound to claim the dogs, and that dogs who were left unclaimed after 7 days to be put to sleep. MBPP has also boarded up the pound so no one is able to see the dogs anymore from the outside.

4. We would like to refer to a copy of the SOP (hereby attached) which states that stray dogs can be claimed by NGOs and ask for clarification on how we are able to rescue the strays for rehoming and adoption from MBPP going forward.

5. The NGO’s have run a very successful adoption program in cooperation with MBPP over the past few months. Penang has shown that it is a caring animal-loving community by adopting over 100 family pets directly from the pound. We hope this matter can be cleared up soon so we will no longer deny a Penang family the right to adopt an animal from MBPP.

6. We would also like to suggest that all the dogs in the pound will be given vaccinations by DVS or the Council vet (for rabies as well as against the other diseases) so that the State is able to provide Penang families with healthy animals for adoption. We hope you are able to provide answers on Penang’s position with regards to dog rehoming and why the pound has been boarded up. Your kind attention and further action with regards to this would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.
Lim Li Lian

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