By Hawkeye
PENANG: Trader Johar Ismail whose tree house cafe in Tanjung Bungah was demolished by the Penang local authorities on Monday, has pledged to remain "quiet" for three weeks.
This is because Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman has apparently made three private offers to him, to compensate for the loss of his livelyhood and the structures.
"The condition imposed on me, is to keep quiet for three weeks until the state government can find a win-win situation," Johar said, adding that he is still upset that the state resorted to demolishing the treehouse despite various appeals.
After several weeks of camping out at the premise, the dreaded nightmare finally came alive on Monday.
Johar and his family together with a handful supporters refused to allow the tractors to move in at 9am, deciding to stay inside the treehouse but after much persuasion, he relented.
The wooden premise was demolished within minutes then. Initially, Johor wanted to pursue a legal channel but he gave it up after he was informed by lawyers that it was impossible to prevent the government from executing its duties.
"I may have obtained a stay or an injunction but ultimately, it is difficult. I am now living by the promise made by Mansor."
If there is no proper response on the offers within the next three weeks, Johar said he would find ways to revive the case.
Conspiracy in the state government
Agreeing that he was a squatter on a state reserve land (beachfront), Johar said in an interview that nonetheless if similar traders in other states were granted leeway, he does not see why the state government wants to pick on him.
"I believe there is a conspiracy among the state government members of Pakatan Rakyat," said the card carrying PKR member.
Johar said he still believes in the struggle of PKR but he is upset that no alternative solution can be found other than to demolish the premise.
Johar is appealing to the state PKR leaders whom he alleges do not personally support the demolition, to liase with the state government on how best to address the issue of illegal hawkers and squatters in Penang.
As Penang's economy grows, there is a grave need to address the plight of the low income group, who are left behind, he said.
"Make it a priority. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the previous government who was unable to resolve issues."
His previous treehouse was sited at an isolated stretch of the Tanjung Bungah beach, sandwiched between a housing area and two resorts here.
