Thank you Penang! One of the residents could not hide her joy at receiving the keys to her new house.

On 23 October 2011, the long wait for the former Kampung Buah Pala residents came to a delightful end. 24 of the original 33 families of the village finally received the keys and freehold title deeds to their double storey houses worth RM 500,000 from the Penang state government

This generous compensation for the villagers was the result of the state government’s initiatives and negotiation with the

developer, Nusmetro Ventures Sdn Bhd.

In addition to the houses, a multi-purpose hall and a Hindu temple will be built in the housing estate in the near future. This is to retain the Indian cultural characteristics of the former village.

Penang Chief Minister (CM) Lim Guan Eng, who was present to deliver the keys to the residents, said that the house compensation was the result of many parties’ hard work in resolving the woes of the former villagers. “I am thankful that Kg Buah Pala is still here for its former occupants. It is still the same Kg Buah Pala, except that the houses are more comfortable,” he said.

One of the recipients known only as Latha (43) said that her family had initially refused to accept the offer. “However, the house was very beautiful and valuable, we just had to accept it,” she said.

Also present were Deputy CM II, Prof. Dr. P. Ramasamy, Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh, Seri Delima ADUN Sanisvara Nethaji Rayer, other state government excos and Nusmetro chief executive officer Thomas Chan.

The agonising wait was finally over for one of the residents.

One of the recipients, Zainal Rosli who was a former policeman, receiving his house keys from Guan Eng.

All the ecstatic house recipients posing for the cameras.

A view of the new houses. In the backdrop is the condominiums built by Nusmetro.

One of the families marveling at the view from their new home.

The guests looking at the spacious house from the inside. Each house has a built-up area of 1,200 sq feet.