Residents, politicians protest against construction of CLQs for foreign and local workers

CLOSE to a thousand people including politicians from various parties rallied at Teluk Kumbar in George Town today to protest against the proposed construction of two centralised living quarters (CLQs) for foreign and local workers here.

They rallied from 10am till 11.30am, protesting against the approval from the DAP-led state government for the project to undergo construction soon.

The group appointed a Universiti Sains Malaysia academic Dr Muhammad Idris Saleh to speak on its behalf.

Idris told a press conference that if the state continues to be stubborn despite the protest, residents in Teluk KUmbar will reject the Madani National Unity government in the next state election.

"We will also study the possibility of taking the matter to court," said Idris.

He said that the CLQ brings about social ills and the foreign workers tend to become a nuisance because of different customs and cultures.

"They also tend to contribute to the excess littering of the area, as they are here to earn a living only on a temporary basis. They are not bothered about helping save the environment," said Idris.

He asked how residents in upscale neighbourhoods such as Gurney Drive feel if a colony of foreign workers were allowed to live there.

"We have to be fair to all quarters here," he said.

Idris said that he was just exercising his democratic right to oppose plans to resettle foreign workers in Teluk Kumbar in view that up to 87% of the inhabitants here are unhappy with the project.

Furthermore, the arrival of foreign workers will cause more congestion in the area.

He urged Penang to move aggressively into the upskilling of workers so there would be less reliance on foreigners.

He said that the state must venture into automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and high-end industries to reflect the wishes of the people.

Among the politicians lending their support were Bayan Lepas assemblyman Datuk Azrul Mahathir Aziz, who is from Parti Amanah Negara, Dr Muhammed Farid Salleh from Penang Umno, former Teluk Bahang assemblyman Datuk Shah Headan Ayoob Shah from Umno and PRM Penang coordinator Ravindar Singh.

Also seen was former Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu and Gerakan president Datuk Seri Dominic Lau.

Balik Pulau MP Datuk Muhammed Bakhtiar Wan Chik also stated to support the protest, saying that the residents are vehemently against it.

Ravindar said that it takes commuters one and a half hours to travel by road to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone (FIZ) while only a 20 minutes drive is required if they commute from Batu Kawan to the FIZ.

"So it makes sense to build the CLQ on the mainland rather than in areas where the build-up is high and the traffic is already congested."

Lau said that Gerakan will undertake a fresh social impact assessment study of the residents living in the vicinity of the project.

"We are also against the project but we want to offer a solution rather than blindly oppose it. We hope to have a result from our study soon."

It was reported that an estimated 32,680 foreign workers will be placed there.

Chong Company Sdn Bhd will build a 27-storey hostel building at Tingkat Teluk Kumbar, which will have shop lots and a recreational area on the first and second floors.

Zantalite Enterprise (M) Sdn Bhd will rezone two lots at Mukim 9, Teluk Kumbar from general housing, beach reserve and existing road zones to a general business zone, and increase the height of the hostel building from five to 30 floors.