Penang govt sold thousands of hectares, says Hilmi
BALIK PULAU: Balik Pulau Umno Division chief Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said thousands of hectares of state government land had been sold since DAP took over the state government leadership.
He said the cost of the land sold would go up due to speculation and they would sell the property project at high prices.
“The Barisan Nasional (BN) government did not do so to safeguard the future of the people so that their children and grandchildren can own homes.
“In this matter, the current state government is not proactive and not people-friendly,” he said after launching the Semarak Desa Kemas4u Carnival here yesterday.
He said the BN government had owned almost 2,428ha in Batu Kawan, but most of the land had been sold off by the current state government to developers.
He said this when asked to comment on the sale of 49 per cent of land belonging to Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to Q Island Development, a subsidiary company of Ideal Property Group.
He said Penang had lost its entire ownership on Pulau Jerejak following the state government’s action.
Hilmi, who is former Penang deputy chief minister, said the state government should rightly develop the land itself or cooperate with the private sector to develop the state economy to create more employment opportunities.
“By retaining land ownership, the state government can control the prices of land from going up and the people can benefit perpetually,” he said.
UDA Holdings, in a statement on Nov 8, confirmed entering into a joint venture with Q Island Development on the project, which is expected to be completed in eight to 10 years. The project’s cost is not determined.
According to UDA, the redevelopment plan of the island had been approved by the state government. Four hotels with five-star status, 1,200 residential units, a marina, a theme park and an 11.5km bicycle route will be built on the island to boost tourism. Bernama