Politics free body mooted to address vanishing traditional kampungs in Penang

GEORGE TOWN: A governing body free from any politics should be formed to address the issue of vanishing traditional villages in Penang, said Penang Malay Association (Pemenang) president Tan Sri Mohd Yusoff Latiff.
He said Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Centre for Policy Research and International Studies (CenPRIS) should serve as the secretariat with the participation of several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who will be involved in drafting policies which would be forwarded to the government.
"The body must be free from political influence so that academician and NGOs can work together without limitation in addressing the issue of traditional villages in Penang.
"Any policy or suggestion to save what has been left in the Malay traditional villages can then be forwarded to the government, either at the state or federal level," he told reporters in a press conference after the forum on "Traditional Kampungs in Penang: The Need For Mindset and Policy Shift" at USM today.
Earlier in his speech, he said the problem of vanishing Malay traditional villages in the state had long been a subject of debate, but year by year, these villages in the heart of George Town were destroyed in the name of development.