THE Penang state government must do all that it can to preserve the Kampung Main Road Indian settlement in Perai, said former deputy chief minister P Ramasamy.

Ramasamy, now the chairman of Urimai political party, said the state government should not phase out the settlement by replacing it with new residential projects.

“Over the years, urbanisation, development and commercialisation have engulfed traditional Indian settlements such as former estates, railway quarters and port settlements.

“Attempts to preserve these settlements have failed except in certain areas and states.

“Kampung Main Road in Perai area is one such Indian settlement that might disappear if the Penang state government proceeds with the plan to build high rise flats to accommodate 700 squatter families in and around Perai,” the former DAP leader said in a statement today.

The former Perai state assemblyman said the area, located in the mainland of Penang, is a very old town in Penang which used to house railway and port workers quarters.

It is now a vital industrial zone for the state.

Ramasamy said that at present there are about 160 families who are living in houses on lands that they bought years ago in Kampung Main Road Perai.

This Indian settlement is believed to be about 200 years old.

However recently the Penang state government has frozen new land applications so that plans could be made to build high rise flats.

He added that about 20 families have successfully applied and obtained their land parcels.

He feared that if no new land applications were allowed, and with the state government proceeding with its plan to build high rise flats, the Kampung Main Road would cease to be an Indian settlement.

He said the high rise flats are being planned to accommodate about 250 squatter families from Kampung Manis and other places in the state.

“Since about 20 families have obtained their plots of land, there is no reason for the state to freeze the application of others in anticipation of a major urban development.

“The Kampung Main Road Indian settlement should be preserved. The state should spend money to upgrade the roads and drains.

“The residents are not against development but development that will have value and meaning to them,” he added. – June 3, 2024.