GEORGE TOWN – Gerakan warned the Pakatan Harapan Penang government that there are serious consequences to selling off state land as the people will end up being at the mercy of profit-centred corporate groups.
“Has the chief minister ever thought about the situation Penangites will face when government land is sold out?” Penang Gerakan chairman Oh Tong Keong said in a statement today.
He said that people risk being exploited if government-owned land falls into the hands of a large consortium.
Oh, who is also Gerakan’s national deputy president, said private developers who take over the lands will sell properties at high prices and that will strain Penangites financially.
He questioned Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to tell the public the government’s specific plans to boost the economy besides trading off state land.
“When private medical institutions buy the land and build hospitals, they will also charge high medical fees. Penangites will end up paying a lot of money in exchange for their own health and lives,” he said.
“When private educational institutions purchase the land, they will charge high tuition fees as students who want to stay in Penang will have no choice but to ask their parents to pay higher education fees.”
When developers acquire land belonging to Penangites, there is less state-owned land and it will be difficult for the people to own low-cost housing and units for the hardcore poor, he stressed.
He said the situation will compel Penangites to leave the island as they will not be able to afford the high cost of living.
Every state government must have its own vision and future development plan.
Oh said the consequences will be disastrous without having any such plans while sticking to selling land.
He added that the government shall have numerous plans to improve the economy to save all levels of society.
Yesterday, Penang MCA slammed the state government’s plans over the issue of land sales.
Its spokesman Tang Heap Seng accused the state government of not having strategies to recover the economy other than selling land. – The Vibes, September 9, 2021.
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