Crisis
committee mooted
08/06/2005 The Star Penang By Derrick Vinesh
A developer has proposed the formation of an action-oriented crisis committee
to sort out technical issues and speed up the approval of projects.
Equine Capital Bhd executive chairman Datuk Patrick Lim, who is developing
the large Bandar Cassia township in Batu Kawan, said project approvals often
hit a snag when developers and the local authorities reached a stalemate over
technical issues in the plans.
“Sometimes certain projects are not approved because the development guidelines
are too generalised.
“For example, the guidelines on hill slope development may not necessarily
be practical for all hill slopes in the state.
“A crisis committee can have discretionary powers to offer fast-track solutions
to such issues.
“It can help bridge the gap between a developer's aspirations and the legal
constraints faced by the local authorities' technical committees,” he said
in an interview yesterday.
Lim was responding to a front page report in a daily on Monday which quoted
hotelier and property developer Tan Sri Low Yow Chuan as saying that he had
had enough of the suffocating red tape and numbing bureaucracy in Penang.
Low, 72, who is executive chairman of the Low Yat Group, said that he was
close to pulling out of or ever doing any projects on the island. He cited
two projects that were affected.
In response, state Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock
Nan said Penang was business-friendly and investors need not wait many years
to get their building plans approved.
He had said Low might have been misinformed by his subordinates on the bureaucracy
involved in getting approval for the two projects.
Lim said the committee could also appoint independent consultants to review
a project's viability and later charge the developer concerned for costs incurred.
Unlike in Selangor and Johor, he said, Penang had limited open spaces, and
development, especially in George Town, had to conform to stringent heritage
guidelines.
Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang branch chairman
Datuk Eddy Choong said the state had some good policies but it did not have
a proper monitoring system.
“Many developers continue to invest in Penang simply because they love the
island,” he said.
Federation of Malaysia Manufacturers (FMM) Northern branch chairman Datuk
O.K. Lee, however, said foreign investors generally did not face problems
with the state government.
“In the manufacturing sector, investors usually can proceed to construct their
factories soon after submitting their building plans because these buildings
are less complicated,” he said. |
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