A compromise has apparently been reached following talks between the state government and the developer Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd which will be presented to the affected 24 families this Saturday on the eve of the Aug 2 deadline given by the developer for the residents to move out.
Deputy Chief Minister (II) Prof Dr P Ramasamy said at a press conference the developer had come to a final offer to placate the residents.
Nusmetro had met the Penang Island Municipal Council officials on Tuesday to work out the new deal, including making the necessary changes to its original plan to develop the land.
"Nusmetro is considering offering each family a double-story terrace house adjacent to its project.
"If the residents agree to the new proposal, the eviction deadline can be revised to enable them to prepare to move out.
"We are hoping that they will accept this offer," he added.
In rebuking MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu's offer of RM3.2 million to buy the land for the villagers, Ramasamy said the land is now valued at RM150 million.
The Kampung Buah Pala case dates back to August 2004 and July 2005, when the previous state executive council reportedly approved the sale of the land at a premium of RM20 per sq ft or RM6.42 million. In 2007, the executive council halved the premium.
The land was slated for the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang in exchange of a plot of land, which was used to build the newer court buildings along Light Street recently.
The residents had sued the cooperative and the developer, Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, and the High Court ruled in their favour in October 2008.
The decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal on May 11, giving the cooperative and Nusmetro vacant possession and the villagers took the case to the federal court, which also dismissed their case in June 14 on grounds that the villagers did not have locus standi.
Brickbats have been traded by both the present and previous state government, namely by Gerakan leaders who alleged that the fate of the residents was sealed by the present government when the land title was issued under the current state government on March 27, 2008, after the Koperasi paid its final installment.
However, the PR government insists that the land transfer to Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang already had been approved by the previous state government and what transpired on March 27 was an administrative procedure.