GEORGE TOWN, Oct 10 — Five Tanjung Tokong non-governmental organisations (NGO) are up in arms over the Penang Island Municipal Council’s (MPPP) suspension of PAS councillor Iszuree Ibrahim, calling him a true leader who fought for the rights of the rakyat.
Spokesman for the groups, Muhammad Salleh Yahaya, accused the state government of victimising the Penang PAS treasurer by removing him from three MPPP standing committees and freezing his councillors’ allocation.
“He has been championing the plight of villagers affected by development even before he became a councillor and now he’s being victimised for being vocal in defending the rights of those being evicted from their homes to give way to developments,” Muhammad Salleh said.
The groups held a press conference at Tanjung Tokong village — one of the villages embroiled in complicated eviction issues that have dragged on for decades — to show their support for Iszuree and the issues he had fought for.
Iszuree ran into trouble over his speech at the PAS muktamar last month that was construed as criticising the state’s development policies.
He was quoted as saying the DAP state government was adopting Barisan Nasional’s pro-developer policies at the expense of the people, in Malaysiakini on September 19 under the headline “PAS delegate says Penang pro-developer, like BN”.
Iszuree claimed he was misquoted by the news portal and explained he merely wanted the state to implement policies to protect the rights of villagers faced with eviction.
Penang PAS intervened to resolve the issue and the state government decided not to sack him from the council pending a discussion with other MPPP councillors.
“As one of those affected by eviction, we feel that the current policies by the Pakatan Rakyat state government did not help those of us being evicted,” he said.
He added that it is time for Pakatan Rakyat to formulate new policies to protect the rights of villagers being evicted especially those who have been living there for several generations before the lands were bought up by developers or changed hands.
“We want the state government to put up a clear policy on their stand when it comes to eviction issues — such as the Kampung Buah Pala issue — so that this could be applied to all cases,” he suggested.
He noted that without such a policy, residents are being evicted from their homes and victimised by developers without proper compensation such as in Kampung Mutiara in Batu Ferringhi, Kampung Bagan Jermal, Kampung Tanjung Tokong and recently Kampung Siam.
He questioned the sincerity of the PR state government in protecting the rights of the rakyat when it does not appreciate leaders like Iszuree who merely brought up such issues to protect the rakyat’s rights.
Iszuree previously lived in Tanjung Tokong before he moved to Batu Uban. Muhammad Salleh said he believed this is why the councillor could easily empathise with the plight of the villagers being evicted from their homes.
Muhammad Salleh, who is also the Traditional Kampung Tanjung Tokong residents association chairman, is also speaking for four other groups; Persatuan Belia Wira Tanjong, Madrasah Al Taqwa Tanjung Tokong, Koperasi Setia Muafakat Tanjung Tokong and Persekutuan Setia Tanjung Tokong.
