If you read all those articles in the local newspapers you will feel a bit depressed with what will eventually happened to your BH which you have invested so much.
One of these day those those local authorities will pounce on you and they will give a kind of hell broke loose situation.
Recently those who owned BHs in UNESCO heritage claimed areas were asked to go. Just pack and go. No compensation no sympathy no feeling, zip nothing. As if they own this whole world. Just because some one in New York send a letter telling them about this place and that place is under those heritage areas.
Just imagine you own a BH in those affected areas and you are now harvesting say 10kg a month. That will be like retrenching you from an income generating business of RM40,000 a month without any compensation.
You property will be left idle and you do not want to burn your back to start a shop selling those tourist gift shop.
Why should you when the BH is doing so well and now you are forced to open a shop that will earned the most about RM5,000 a month (if you are lucky).
You will also have to employ those bunch of locals to run the shop. More often they will be smuggling all those items you displayed at your shop.
You then will need to pay their monthly salaries, sick leaves, mother and father died leaves (more then two times), so many public holidays leaves, EPF and SOCSO contributions. Each of these workers is nothing more then a pain in the neck.
You actually become their slave since you have to look after them first and you will get paid the last.
When you scold them they will be gone missing, never turn up for work. "Boss saya sakit, deman, muntah, pening kepala, sakit perut and etc etc". A symptom of a worker taking revenge on you.
You will then become very angry and stressed up. Your blood pressure will jump very high and there are worse things to come.
These workers one day will moonlighting, selling the same items, which they stole from your shop, and selling exactly the same items at half price just in front of your shop.
The following day the EPF officer drop by your shop and force you to open you EPF contribution book and found you did not pay one month of their contribution. On the spot you will be issued a summon to appear in court. If you are lucky you will be free or else you will be put behind bars for one night.
The come another guy who claimed to be from the Pekeso and wanted the same documents proving your monthly contribution, Again your accountant failed to pay one month. You are again hit by a new summon.
These are the real situations which I went through during my years of running some business.
What I believed is a compromise between the two parties.
The building owner and the local authorities.
Why can't all the owners and the local council works towards a positive goal.
Good example:
1) Ask the owners to register with the council and each of them will be required to upgrade their building to a required standard so that the building will look very attractive to the tourist from the outside.
2) Allow the owner to operate the BH on the higher floors but lowest floor should be rented to a suitable tenants.
3) The local council will provide all the helps to restore the building and perhaps allocate reasonable grants to ensure the building are upgraded.
4) There will be no external sounds allowed to be played.
5) The BH shall be regularly inspected to minimize any health hazard.
6) The entrance hole of the birds shall be only at the back part of the house and no jack roof allowed.
7) Each BH shall be provided with a log book to ensure that they are properly inspected and applied with the necessary insecticide.
8) No water traps or ponds are allowed in the BH.
Why must you punish them when you can work with them to help in upgrading the heritage building.
It is very costly to upgrade those old buildings however if you say yes I will approve your operating license if you comply to the upgrading works, I am sure all of them will be very happy to spend some of their income.
As long as their BH is noiseless and safe from any diseases it should be okay.
I might not be right but I am sure all those who own BH(s) will agree with the above ideas.
Yes bring them to your office and discuss with them for a win win solutions.
There must be a way and the best will be both parties got what they wanted.
The local council will have those buildings upgraded at a fraction of their cost, no noise and no diseases while the owners have a stable income from their BH operation.
Unfortunately the Chief Minister has make a turn around decision.
I though he will be the first person to fight with the Federal Government on matters pertaining to the welfare of his supporters in Penang.
Latest from someone who tried to help those BH owners in Penang:
Dear Bro Harry,
Please be informed that before CNW when you entertained officers from Sabah IDS officers in Setiawan, and I went to Penang with other officers. I did visited Penang CM with Penang BH Chairman and 3others committee members and CM promised to have a win-win solution but he did not keep his promised just because DPM's instruction to wipe out all BH within heritage area!!
I hope he should not be a Hero first since Melaka BN Government has not taken any action on BH within Heritage area!
Penang Heritage BH owners agreed to contribute certain amount to Penang Heritage Beautification Fund since Penang can not receive the said Fund from Federal Goverment but end up the BH owners have to protest...............
Hope you could call the Chairman and visit the Penang BH within Heritage area (more than 400 units) and you will learn that all BH have no external sound more than 6 months ago, and they promised to beautify the external BH to the satisfaction of the Local Authority but.....................
Very sad for Bh owners!
I hope the Penang Government will wake up and sit down with the BH owners to have Win-Win solution and do not make some other party happy!!
(Note: This email was put into this article because I strongly believed that the CM should be supportive of the ideas of using the swiftlet farming income for the sake of beautifying those worn down buildings. I have no intention of undermining the decision made by the CM but please reconsider your action since our fate is in your hands.)
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