Dr Hilmi Yahaya, MP for Balik Pulau and head of the Umno division, said hundreds of acres of state land had been sold and the action did not profit the people in the state, since the DAP took over the state government leadership.

He said the cost of the land sold to the developers would go up due to speculation and they would sell the property project at high prices.

He said the previous state government run by the Barisan Nasional did not do so to safeguard the future of the people in the state so that their children and grandchildren can still own homes. “In this matter, the current state government is apparently not proactive and not people-friendly,” he told reporters after a constituency event today.

He said during the time of the BN government, the state owned almost 6,000 acres in Batu Kawan. However, this land had been almost entirely sold off by the current state government for developers to carry out numerous projects.

He said Penang people had directly lost the entire ownership of Pulau Jerejak following the sale of 49 per cent of land belonging to Penang Development Corporation to a subsidiary company of Ideal Properties.

Hilmi, a former deputy chief minister, said the state government, should have developed the land itself or cooperated with the private sector to create more employment opportunities.

“By retaining land ownership, the state government can control the price of land from going up and the people can benefit in perpetuity,” he said.

On Nov 8, UDA Holdings Bhd confirmed a joint venture with Q Island Development for a development project on Pulau Jerejak which is expected to be completed in eight to 10 years.

UDA said the redevelopment plan had been approved by the state government. Four hotels with five-star status, 1,200 residential units, a marina, a theme park and an 11.5km bicycle route would be built on the island.