Project site an eyesore
The Star Penang 15/4/2005 By ANTHONY TAN

PART of Kampung Pisang Awak in Penang, which made way for a development project last year, has become an eyesore with its partly torn down houses and broken furniture. 

Bukit Dumbar Coastal Action Committee secretary Intan Pawanteh said the site had also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. 

She said more than 80 families who lived in about 60 houses built over the sea off Bukit Dumbar were moved out last October for the development project, which included an 11-storey block of flats. 

Some of the families, who were Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) holders, had been allocated units at the housing project which is under construction, said Intan, 38.  

She said most of the affected families were moved to a nearby 66-unit longhouse while the others rented accommodation elsewhere. 

“The authorities should clear the site and land fill it as the place is dirty and an eyesore.   “If this is done, it will serve as a place for our children to play as there is no playing field at the longhouse,” she said. 

Azahari Idros, who works nearby, said a few residents of an adjacent apartment block even treated the site as a dumping ground by hurling garbage from their units into it. 

“Once, the garbage landed on a car parked nearby and broke its windscreen,” he said.  Azhari said there were a lot of mosquitoes, especially during the recent dry season. 

Intan said the number of mosquitoes were now less after the Penang Municipal Council carried out fogging.  Last Saturday, Penang DAP Action Team chief Tham Weng Fatt handed over a letter of complaint on the matter to Penang Municipal Council president Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib.  

A copy of the letter, addressed to Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, was handed over to Dr Koh's special officer Tan Hock Sim at Dewan Sri Pinang on Tuesday where the State Assembly sitting was held.  Tan said the complaint would be forwarded to the authorities for action to be taken.