Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Dap Secretary- General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang , at a meeting of the Tanjong DAP Parliamentary Liasion Committee held at DAP Penang Hqrs on Wednesday , January 26, 1994 at 8pm.
Tan Gim Hwa should explain at the Public Debate with the DAP on February 1 why he did not lift a finger to stop the demolition of Hotel Metropole which started on Christmas Day last month and took more than a week
Penang DAP has challenged the Penang Chief Minister , Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and MPPP President , Datuk Tan Gim Hwa to a Public Debate on the Hotel Metropole and Taman Midlands scandals at the Penang Chinese Town Hall next Tuesday on February 1.
Although I doubt both if them would dare to accept the DAP challenge to a Public Debate on these two MPPP scandals , I hope that they would finally find the political courage to turn up for the debate to demonstrate to the people of Penang and Malaysia that they have nothing to hide on the Hotel Metropole and Taman Midlands scandals and are prepared to subject themselves to public scrutiny and accountability.
The DAP has always believed in fairness and we do not propose to spring surprises on Tsu Koon or Gim Hwa at the Public Debate.
I am therefore giving advance notice to Gim Hwa that he should be prepared to explain at the Public Debate next Tuesday why he and the MPPP did absolutely nothing to stop the wanton demolition of the heritage building , Hotel Metropole which started on Christmas Day last month and took more than a week.
In fact, even without a Public Debate with the DAP , Gim Hwa owes the people of Penang a full explanation why he and the MPPP did not lift a finger to stop the demolition of Hotel Metropole which took more than a week from Christmas Day last month.
When I called a press conference on 30th December last year and called on the Chief Minister , Dr. Koh Tsu Koon . to direct the MPPP President to order an immediate halt to the demolition of Hotel Metropole , it was the sixth day of the demolition.
I had spent two days to check whether Hotel Metropole had been designated a heritage building for conservation as the MPPP had been very secretive in its decisions and operations . But Tan Gim Hwa and MPPP can have no cause or excuse for not lifting a finger to stop the demolition which took over a week.
In fact , even as January 6 , after Gim Hwa had announced that the MPPP had served a notice on the new owners to restore the land to its original condition , the Penang Heritage Trust called on the MPPP to take action to prevent the new owner from destroying or carting awat any materials from the land that could be used in the rebuilding.
But Gim Hwa and the MPPP again did nothing!
Or can the MPPP councillors , especially those from Gerakan , claim that they did not know Hotel Metropole is a heritage building?
This was why at my first press conference on December 30 , I called on the Penang Chief Minister to direct the MPPP President to order an immediate halt to demolition of Hotel Metropole.
Instead of accepting the legitimacy and propriety of my call , the Gerakan leaders decided to twist what I said at the press conference , and claimed that I had told a lie in accusing Gim Hwa of ordering the demolition of Hotel Metropole . This is the work of political desperados and bankruots and I have no time for them !
I have checked around and from eye-witness accounts , I understand that on Christmas Day , when the demolition of Hotel Metropole was started , only the roof was demolished and that it took more than a week for the whole building to be torn down.
In failing to lift a finger to stop the demolition which had taken more than a week , Gim Hwa and MPPP must stand accused of conniving in the demolition of Hotel Metropole .
Let Gim Hwa justify at the Penang Chinese Town Hall on February 1 why he and the MPPP had not lifted a finger to stop the demolition of Hotel Metropole although the demolition took more than a week and despite my press conference on December 30 last year.
Will MPPP support the call by ALIRAN that it should not give planning approval for any development for the next 15 to 20 years where there had been demolition of heritage buildings?
DAP welcomes the concern that have been shown by two organisations to the demolition of Hotel Metropole , namely ALIRAN and the Malaysian Historical Heritage Trust.
Will MPPP support the call by ALIRAN that it should not give planning approval for any development for the next 15 to 20 years where there had been demolition of heritage buildings?
ALIRAN has also called for the establishment of a Public Inquiry into the Hotel Metropole demolition scandal and the time has come for the Chief Minister and the State Exco to give this matter serious consideration.