When will MPPP invoke Section 26 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 impose a RM 50,000 fine against Dolphin Square Sdn . Bhd for the Christmas Day ‘lighting demolition’ of Hotel Metropole on Christmas Day?

By Parliament Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary –General and MP for Tanjung , Lim Kit Siang , in Penang on Saturday , 15 January 1994;

When will MPPP invoke Section 26 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 impose a RM 50,000 fine against Dolphin Square Sdn . Bhd for the Christmas Day ‘lighting demolition’ of Hotel Metropole on Christmas Day?

Two nights ago, Penang Gerakan launched another campaign to deface the penang Island with yet another one of its ugly black –and – white poster campaign , this time with the words ‘DAP lies”

On the one hand , the Gerakan Controlled MPPP is exhorting the people of Penang beautify the Penang City , but on the other hand , the Penang Gerakan , led by MPPP councilors , are going all out to make the Penang island look very ugly with its tasteless black-and –white posters.

The penang Gerakan leaders are copycats , who have no original ideas. The people of Penang will remember the colourful and beautiful poster put up by DAP before the last general elections , with the photograph of the Gerakan President , Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik and the words “Keng Yaik , You are a liar!”

But although the penang Gerakan leaders are pure copycats , they are bad copy cats. If they want to put up posters in Penang , they should at least put up beautiful posters and not their present ugly and untruthful posters.

Let me advise the Gerakan Leaders that if their posters are to have any affort, they must be credible . The People of Penang and Malaysia fully supported the DAP 1990 poster campaign of Keng Yaik as a liar In Fact , Keng Yaik ;s lies about most shameful and dishonourable chapter in the histroey of Keng Yaik and the Gerakan and decent Gerakan leaders today are still ashamed of these lies.

This was one reason why in the 1990 general elections the Gerakan did so badly in the polls – and Kengyaik himself nearly lost his own Parliamentary seat in Bruas.

The Penang Gerakan ‘ s new campaign to put up 10,000 copies of black-and white posters with the words “DAP lies” is very ugly for another reason – its motives , which are unclean and impure .

Penang Gerakan poster campaign ugly , unclean and impure as it wants to tell the Great lie that there is no Hotel Metropole heritage Building Demolition Scandal , no Taman Midlands project scandal , no MPPP improporties or abuses of power

It is very clear that the primary objectives of the latest Penang Gerakan poster campaign is to tell the Great lie that there is no Hotel Metropole Heritage Building Demolition Scandal , no Taman Midland “one Stop Centre” Scandal , no MPPP improprieties or abuses of power.

Who is the penang Gerakan trying to bluff?

Penang Gerakan can put up 10,000 or 100,000 or even one million posters , but they cannot make the people of Penang believe that there is no Hotel metropole Heritage Building Demolition scandal.

The People of penang knaow that the Hotel Metropole scandal is not just the scandal of the lighting demolition of Hotel Metropole on Christmas Day but also the following scandals:

The scandal of the role of the MPPP President , Tan Gim Hwa and MPPP Councillors , who not only did not react for 10 days after the demolition , it on October 28 last year , had surreptitiously removed Hotel metropole from the 1989 MPPP list of 20 heritage buildings along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah prohibiting any demolition and placed it in Category Two:

The scandal of the role of the Penang and National Gerakan leaders in the series of sale of Hotal Gerakn preceding its demolition on Christmas Day.

Does tan Gim Hwa , Lim Ee Hoong and other Gerakan leaders who were join owners of Hotel Metropole want the people to believe that national Gerakan Leaders like Tan Sri Chan Choong Tat , Datuk Soong Siew Hoong and Lim Kheng Guan were prepared to pay millions of ringgit for the Hotel Metropole property although it was classified as a heritage building and should not be demolished and therefore could not be resold?If so , Chan Chong tat , Soong Siew Hoong and Lim Kheng Guan must be very bad businessmen , which I do not think they are.

Does Tan Gim Hwa , Lim Ee hOOng and other Gerakan leaders want the people to believe that the RM 2 company , Dolphin Square Sdn. Bhd was prepared to pay more than three times the market price for Hotel Metropole at RM 9.5 million without an undertsnding that it could be demolished?

Again, I do not believe that the real owner of Dolphin square Sdn Bhd are such bad businessmen either!

A full Public inquiry will be avle establish who are the real sellers of hotel Metropole to Dolphin square Sdn Bhd for RM 9.5 million – whether Cempaha Sen Bhd ot the pld owners.

Can Tan Gim Hwa explain how kuch the Hotel Metropole sdn . Bhd whose sole property was Hotel Metropole , was sold to Cempaka Sdn .Bhd after he became MPPP President

Tan Gim Hwa said he is very angry about the matter of the demolition of Hotel Metropole . Is he angry about the demolition of a heritage building , or because of the questions raised bythe DAP about the real role of the penang Gerakan Leaders in the demolition ?

Gim Hwa has said that the MPPP would take action against Dolphin Square Sdn Bhd under section 26 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 apart from Section 27 requiring the new owner to rebuild and restore Hotel Metropole in six months.

The questions is why the MPPP had not yet involves Section 26 against Dolphin Square Sdn. Bhd to impose a RM 50,000 fine for demolishing Hotel Metropole , although three full weeks had elapsed?

I f Tan GimHwa is angry about the wanton and scandalous demolition of hotel Metropole as a heritage Building he would have acted under Sections 26 and 27 on the first available opportunity , I,e on Monday December 27 m1993!

Let Gim hwa answer, why hasn’t he involved Section 26 of the Town and Country Planning Act yet?