State executive councillor Lim Hock Seng said this following reports of two religious-interest groups raising a stink about a sewage plant being located in the area being offered.
Lim said there was a 500-lot car park and another 100ft setback dividing the oxidation plant and the land being offered for purchase for the building of houses of worship.
Lim said people were living in the area around the land. This includes blocks of Projek Perumahan Rakyat nearby. He said there had been no complaints from them about smell all these years.
“Also, Indah Water Konsortium has built a 3m high wall along the border of the oxidation plant,” Lim said at a press conference with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in Komtar today.
He said the land on offer was also replete with utility connections – electricity lines, water supply, sewage system and telecommunication lines.
Commenting on the issue, Guan Eng said he was disappointed with people trying to pour cold water over Penang’s sincere effort in helping religious institutions build their houses of worship.
Earlier, he handed a RM50,000 donation to The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, Penang branch, at his office.
Today, The Star reported that two religious-interest groups – The Penang Hindu Association and the Teong Guan Association – had expressed concern over the proximity of the land to the oxidation plant. They also raised the question of the likely prices of the lots.
On March 2, Guan Eng announced the offer of 20 acres of prime land facing the Prai River in Ampang Jajar, near Butterworth, to those wanting to build places of worship.
He said 32 lots, varying from 6,000 sq ft to an acre, would be available at the area in Permatang Pauh.
He said it would be offered at a special rate, to be determined by the Valuation and Property Services Department of the Finance Ministry.
The land would be offered on a 99-year lease and would be “not so expensive”, Guan Eng had said.
Those interested can mail Guan Eng at the Chief Minister’s Office, Level 28, Komtar, 10503 George Town, Penang or contact Hock Seng’s office at 04-262-5952 or [email protected]