KEPALA BATAS: The Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) and the developer of the proposed centralised labour quarters (CLQ) in Bertam have been urged to hold engagement sessions with affected residents to find an amicable solution.

       Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (pic) said most of the residents were concerned over the prospect of an influx of foreign workers in the area.

       "In my opinion, it is not suitable to build the CLQ in Bertam because it will result in an influx of foreign workers, which will leave a deep impact on the surrounding communities.

       "As such, the developer and MBSP must hold transparent engagement sessions with residents in the area,” he told reporters at the Penaga Hari Raya open house celebration organised by Kepala Batas Umno here Sunday (May 29).

       Reezal, however, said that this did not mean he rejected any form of industrial development in the area but that it must be based on high technology and involve highly-skilled workers, thus avoiding reliance on less-skilled workers.

       Reezal, who is also the Kepala Batas MP, welcomed the presence of high-technology industries in the area.

       Meanwhile, about 100 Bertam residents from more than 10 housing estates near the project held a peaceful protest against the proposed construction of the CLQ in the area, which would result in the placement of thousands of foreign workers, and proposed that the construction be shifted to the Ara Kuda area in Tasek Gelugur, which is not too far away.

       Bandar Putra Bertam Community Alliance representative Mohd Fahmi Abdul Rejab said the project was surrounded by housing estates comprising nearly 7,800 housing units, adding that it would definitely have various effects on the residents, among them social and health issues, compared to Ara Kuda which is not as densely populated.

       "We, the residents here, are not against the development of a high technology-based industrial area at the 339ha site located at Jalan Tun Hamdan Sheikh Tahir in Bertam.

       "We are also aware of the status of Bandar Bertam, which is a Tier 1 development area, where the area will be the beneficiary of rapid development in terms of education, university and industrial growth but the residents here are against the construction of the CLQ,” he told reporters after holding the peaceful rally at Taman Mekar Sari, which is near the proposed CLQ.

       It is understood that the development project, which is in the process of obtaining planning permission, has two packages.

       Package one involves the construction of 45 units of industrial plots and three blocks of 10-storey workers’ quarters while package two involves a proposal to build 99 units of industrial plots and four blocks of 10-storey workers’ quarters for a total of 977 units. - Bernama