Penang Appeal Board - new appointments.

The Appeal Board has reached another milestone. It is under my portfolio - Town and Country Planning. The Penang State Government has appointed a new panel of Appeal Boards which comprises professionals and independent citizens.

As reported in the Star.
Judge heads Appeal Board


THE state Appeal Board in Penang will be headed by Penang High Court judge Datuk Abd Rahim Uda.

His deputy is Siti Khadijah S. Hassan — a former industrial court judge. Eleven others, comprising academicians and professionals including a lawyer, engineer, architect and surveyor, have been appointed board members.

“This is an independent body set up under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976. So hopefully, we will be able to strike a balance between the state’s economic development, environmental needs and the concerns of the people in our effort to achieve international city status,” Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said before he presented the official appointment letters to the board members in Komtar on Friday.

The eight newly appointed board members are Teh Theam Seng, Prof Abdul Ghani Salleh, Lim Yoke Mui, Datuk Tan Chong Meng, P. Ganesh, Datuk Dr Sharom Ahmad, Prof Dr Eric Goh and N. Shanmugam.

Existing members who have been retained are Datuk Dr Ong Hean Tee, Associate Prof Dr Mohamed Amirrudin Fawzi Bahaudin and Rumi J Manecksha.


Independent body: Lim congratulating the newly appointed board members.

The three-year appointments took effect on April 1.

Lim said members of the public should discuss their problems with their respective assemblymen before filing an appeal with the board.

“If you have cases that occurred before last year’s March 8 general election, please approach your assemblyman to see if things can be sorted out in a speedier and more efficient manner without resorting to court action.

“Only if that fails, should you approach the board,” he said, adding that all letters sent to the local authorities must be replied so that complainants would be aware of the status of their problems.

“The local councils must also keep all records and correspondence which are to be filed properly to avoid their cases being thrown out by the board on technical grounds,” he said.

In his speech, Abd Rahim said: “We (the board members) are entrusted to do our jobs well. We all come from different backgrounds and all have different experiences which I am confident will serve us well when we are faced with many different issues.”