GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government has denied claims that it is “the darling of developers” at the expense of the public, especially those in need of public housing.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said more stop-work orders had been issued by both the local councils since 2008 compared to previously.

He said this proved that the state government was “more stringent in upholding the rule of law, demanding strict compliance with technical requirements and more unforgiving than Barisan Nasional”.

“Under Pakatan Rakyat, the Penang Municipal Council issued 259 stop-work orders from 2008 till 2012 which is nearly seven times more than the 38 stop- work orders issued for the same period (between 2004 and 2007) under Barisan.

“The Seberang Prai Municipal Council issued 11 stop-work orders from March 2008 until May this year, whereas not a single stop-work order was issued from 2003 till March 2008 by the Barisan government,” he said.

Lim said the state government was business-friendly, provided rules were complied with.

Dismissing allegations that property prices in the state rose due to increased land premiums, he said the land conversion rates were the same as they were under the previous Barisan administration.

He said the rise in property prices was due to rising public confidence in the state government’s competency, accountability and transparency administration as well as market forces.

“To ensure sufficient affordable housing, the state government has allocated a minimum RM500mil to build 18,000 affordable homes.

“Unlike in Johor, where a bungalow in Iskandar costs RM3mil and can be bought by foreigners including Singaporeans, Penang has imposed a limit on all property purchases by foreigners beginning July 1,” he said in a press release yesterday.

Lim said he was responding to claims allegedly made by Barisan against the state government recently.

Source: The Star