By Lisa J. Ariffin
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 07, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today accused The Star of “media lynching” after the English daily ran two front-page stories highlighting Penang’s soaring property prices and uncontrolled hillside development.
“Whilst no one disputes the rising property prices in Penang, why is it that a similar rise in property prices in [Barisan Nasional]-controlled states such as Johor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur has gone unnoticed and not given front-page treatment by the Star?” Lim asked today in a press statement.
Lim was responding to The Star’s front-page story today, which reported Penang residential property prices as soaring by more than 25 per cent over the last five years.
He also “unreservedly condemn the Star for false reporting against Penang yesterday with its sensational headline of ‘The Dying Hills’”, which was the title of a report criticising the state government for environmental damages and uneven spread of construction.
“The hills in Penang are not dying because the present Penang PR state government has not approved a single project above 250 feet,” Lim explained, adding the state “has the most stringent guidelines for hill slope safety development in the country”.
“Why, then, did the Star not highlight that other BN states allows development on hills above the height of 250 feet?” he asked.
Lim pointed out a total of 31 development projects had been approved by the previous BN state government on hill land above 250 feet as compared to none by the present PR state government.
“Even the 38 hill slope projects approved the last two years for heights below 250 ft, half of them are for open space and green areas without any building structures,” he said.
Lim regretted the “stringent adherence to hill slope safety guidelines has been manipulated into a political attack against PR when other states with a clearly worse record are left off the hook”.
“Hopefully those who are interested in fair play would listen with an open mind and not allow themselves to be used by the BN agenda in view of the coming general elections.”
I have stopped reading The Star long time ago.
Expect attacks from every corners as GE13 is getting nearer…..
We all know that BN is willing to resort to anything to cling to power.
People should stop buying Star so that MCA cannot have the medium to fool the people. Besides it would prevent MCA from playing money politics.
By now LGE and PR should know that the prostitutes calling themselves journalists and working for papers such as The Star are a disgrace to their profession.
To these scums, whatever UMNO/BN does is fine, even if it means covering billion ringgit scandals or the rape of the hills that is happening in Klang Valley. They have become so conditioned to all the BN wrong doing that they have become blind.
Though it is his right to point out blatant lies spewed by these scums, it would be better for LGE to let the Penang voters to decide who they want to administer Penang – the rotten, corrupt ridden UMNO/BN or the Pakatan Rakyat government that has shown these scoundrels what accountability and transparency mean.
Penang voters unlike their counterparts in the rural parts of the mainland are not illiterate and dumb. Penang voters would show without a doubt that they prefer Pakatan Rakyat and LGE as the Chief Minister of Penang.
The Star = Gutter journalism. It belongs in the trash can.
LGE, congratulations to you!
The fact that Penang’s property prices are soaring IS a plus factor for you.
Because Penang is so well run, it is natural that people are prepared to pay a premium for properties there!
Secondly, with regard to permitting the building of premises on precarious hill slopes, nobody can beat the UMNO/BN government.
Haven’t we witnessed several disastrous landslides involving landed properties in expensive hill slope developments in the past decades?
Some even with losses of life?
It’s good for you to bring this up so that we are constantly reminded of what those fools are doing.
Haven’t one former PM been saying that Malaysians have short memories?
Good of them to keep reminding us and keeping us incensed!!!!
They try to throw all sorts of accusations at Khalid for the mushrooming massage parlours and pubs. They are rarely found in the kampungs, but they are found in every state whether controlled by BN or by Pakatan.
People buy the Star for the classified ads and sports pages. They don’t buy the Star for its political patronage. People like Wong Chun Wai and Jocelyn Tan know not to bite the hand that feeds them.
The Star is the English version of Utusan!!
Any educated person who read The Star or the NST will not believe a single thing they say.
Penang voters are intelligent and savvy.
The Star can write what is likes, Penang will stay with Pakatan and MCA will NOT win a single seat even with all the help provided by The Star.
Maybe it is Tony Fernandes’ idea. He is the new Director on the block. You know how he runs his airline.
Lim Guan Eng need not fear nor defend himself …like the crooks are doing.
Penang voters can see and know the real situations.
Right now…Penang will be DAP State…no matter how much they want to bring LGE down.
//Whilst no one disputes the rising property prices in Penang, why is it that a similar rise in property prices in [Barisan Nasional]-controlled states such as Johor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur has gone unnoticed?//
DAP should publish a list of properties in the country, listed according to price per sq foot, to counter BN’s lies
For PR to reign-in hill-side development is no small feat. Take a look around Penang Island and you will figure out quickly there is no more flat-land for development except on the Western side of the island and even then there is not much there. Redeveloping existing properties and going high-rise is a much more complicated process and cannot be orderly done if Penang does not have the funds to acquire the properties from existing owners even on a eminent domain basis.
Penang under DAP is already ahead of the curve in terms of not letting development get ahead of it.