A PENANG PKR leader has warned politicians not to manipulate protests against the construction of foreign worker quarters in Teluk Kumbar on the island for their own agenda and mileage.
The party’s state deputy chairman Datuk Muhammed Bakhtiar Wan Chik said that he was made aware of attempts to drag the PKR leadership into the controversial issue.
He said that it must be made clear that the party opposes the proposal but prefers not to use the protests, such as the one held today, as an avenue to register their displeasure.
Bakhtiar said that both he and Penang PKR chairman Nurul Izzah Anwar have written to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to express their objections on the proposed construction of the quarters meant to house up to 32,600 foreigners in the area on the south of the island.
He was responding to speculations that Nurul Izzah would be attending the rally earlier this morning at Teluk Kumbar.
Yesterday, the media here were fed information that Nurul Izzah together with Bayan Lepas assemblyman Datuk Azrul Mahathir Aziz would be among the leaders addressing the rally, which is the fourth public protest held to object to the project.
A check at the scene showed that none of the leaders on the side of the government were present.
But Bakhtiar said that the people have a right to stage protests.
It is just that PKR prefers to register its protest directly to the state government, which is under the ruling national alliance of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.
Even Penang MCA chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng and his MIC counterpart Datuk J. Dhinagaran had been listed as coming to support the protest, but they were not at the rally in person today.
Penang Umno liaison chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir was also not present there today.
Bakhtiar said that the state PKR leadership agrees with the contention that the staff quarters for foreign factory workers can be situated within the industrial zone, and not at the traditional residential area where there are apartments and villages inhabited by locals.
The rally was led by social activists Datuk Md Noor Md Yusof, Azmi Jaafar, Sazali Salleh and Sophian Mat Zain.
Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai was also present.
The protest’s organising chairman Muhammad Idris Salleh has met Chow on three separate occasions to discuss the matter.
Chow had said that Penang will consider the points raised but he also stressed that under the International Labor Organisation (ILO) framework, foreign workers are entitled to decent living conditions, hence the state’s desire to erect workers’ quarters here.
Essentially, the rally is another attempt to pressure the DAP-led state government to reject plans to construct the project, as such foreign workers coming there would outnumber the local population in Teluk Kumbar.
The residents here are fearful that the foreign workers will bring social ills.
It was reported that an estimated 32,680 foreign workers will be placed there.
The project entails the building of a 27-storey hostel building at Tingkat Teluk Kumbar, which will have shop lots and a recreational area on the first and second floors. – The Vibes, February 25, 2024
