Why KLIDC has not developed Taman Manggis land

(Bernama) – Penang State Assembly Opposition Leader Jahara Hamid today questioned why the state government has not taken action on Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre Sdn Bhd (KLIDC) for not developing the Taman Manggis land after winning the tender in 2010.

“The conditions in the offer letter stipulate that KLIDC submit the application for planning approval within a year, complete the project in three years and submit the application for approval from the Health Ministry in one year.

“If the conditions are not observed, the offer would be withdrawn. The offer letter was issued on July 20, 2010, but KLIDC mortgaged the land to a bank for the same price, which is more than RM11 million. This must be answered by the state government,” she said.

She said this when debating the motion of thanks for the address by Penang Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas at the state assembly sitting here today.

Jahara, who is also assemblywoman for Teluk Air Tawar, also questioned if the land still belonged to KLIDC as she claimed it had been mortgaged to a bank.

In reply, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng stressed that the land still belonged to KLIDC and denied it had been mortgaged to a bank.

Lim, who is also the Air Putih state assemblyman, said KLIDC’s delay in developing the land was due to difficulties in obtaining a full licence for the hospital.

“Without a full licence, the project cannot go on. What is the point of having land when there is no licence?”

The issue of the Taman Manggis land arose after it was linked to Lim’s purchase of a bungalow on the island at below-market price.

In a separate development, Jahara also urged the Penang government to form a policy which disallowed parts of traditional villages in the state from being developed.

She said these villages had to be preserved for future generations, as well as to keep Penang’s true identity.

She said out of the 662 villages in the state, only 48 were listed in the Penang State Structure Plan.

“These villages must be categorised, there are traditional villages whose history must be preserved and improved with infrastructure facilities,” she said.

The assembly sits again on Monday.