Penang gov't blamed for 'flawed development'

On Monday Pakatan Rakyat would have ruled Penang for six years, but Balik Pulau, a rural constituency at the southwestern tip of the island, still lacks a holistic development policy, claims former MP Yusmadi Yusoff.

Yusmadi said Pakatan won the parliamentary seat from Umno in 2008 even when it did not have state power or money because the people expected change.

However, Umno recaptured the seat in the May 5 polls last year, after PKR dropped Yusmadi as candidate, replaced by Muhammad Baktiar Wan Chik who is currently a Penang Municipal (MPPP) councillor.

“Balik Pulau faces various challenges, including massive development which are flawed, as most of them end up victimising the people,” said Yusmadi when met last night at Akademi Rakyat, in Simpang Empat, a learning centre he set up when he was the one term-MP.

“But who are the ones approving these projects? They are not outsiders, they happen to be our own people in Pakatan Rakyat,” added Yusmadi, a lawyer by profession.

He  was referring to his colleagues from Pakatan, including MPPP councillors, who are currently sitting in the state’s one-stop-centre which reviews and approves  development projects in the state.

Land Many villages across Balik Pulau, formerly a fishing village, have been sold to private developers for residential or commercial development, which Yusmadi said had reached "a critical level".

Hence, there is no point in leaders having state power, he said, if such power is used to oppress and not defend the people.

He recalled how Anwar Ibrahim used to say that development must be humane, that those which are deviant (songsang) should not be allowed as “they brings tears to people’s eyes”.

I don’t blame him, I blame our very own leaders who have the position now but do not use it to benefit the people,” said Yusmadi, who is also founder and chairman of the Rights Foundation.

Noble projects could be rejected

Yusmadi said when villagers are forced out of their land, local folk will reject even noble projects like developing an international education hub in Balik Pulau.

He added that “draconian” laws like the National Land Code is often used by the state or federal government to allow eviction, where “kampungs eventually perish”.

He admitted that Balik Pulau has seen samples of development like several education institutions, a magistrate’s court, and many residential areas but the people do not own nor were they consulted in how they were developed.

Yusmadi wants the local folk to be consulted and invited to participate in the developments plans before the projects are “bulldozed” into their lives.

“The people are are not anti-development but if developers merely act like landlords out to force them out of their lands, they are bound to fight back,” Yusmadi, a life member of PKR, said.

On the state’s education policy, Yusmadi said it had failed to benefit the people in Balik Pulau as he continues to hear stories of how rural children lack financial aid to pursue their education.

“I’ve been hearing the same stories for 30 years, since I was a child in Balik Pulau,” he quipped.

Yusmadi said the situation has prompted him to set-up a multi-racial community-run cooperative dubbed Koperasi Pembangunan Balik Pulau which has the ultimate aim of funding a “multi-varsity” for the locals one day.

The Koperasi will also focus on tourism and recreational activities to be decided by the community collectively.

Grand plans and eyeing land

He already has a blue-print and is eyeing a 100 acre-land in Kampung Genting to develop the multi-varsity focusing on intellectual studies, entrepreneurship and development.

It will be set in an area surrounded by organic farms, fruit orchards, a running stream, lush green hills and forest, Yusmadi said.

To date, the Koperasi has 50 registered members - each share is purchased at RM100, and won  tthe Malaysian Cooperative Commission’s approval in June last year.

The Koperasi will run the Akademi Rakyat - which has 500 students -  primary school children and adults - who attend business, language and religious studies courses taught by volunteers.

Yusmadi urged the public, including state and federal departments, NGOs or individuals interested in Balik Pulau's progress to lend the Koperasi a helping hand.

“Balik Pulau needs a new democratic model, which does not only focus on voting, but includes developing education, entrepreneurship and private enterprises to sustain the community,” he said.

“This is my new challenge, to design a new democracy based on domestic challenges of the locality,” he added.

“When I stopped being the Balik Pulau MP, I did not stop being involved in politics, in fact, I have become more political,” he quipped.

Malaysiakini