Crisis
committee mooted
The Star Penang 8/6/2005 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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