BUTTERWORTH: The government will allow the Malayan Sugar Manufacturing Company (MSM) in Perai to remain on its current site for another 10 years under a transitional arrangement, even though its land lease expired last year.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the extension was necessary to facilitate the relocation of the factory in phases, while allowing the Kampung Manis redevelopment project to move forward.
"There will be no sudden shutdown of the factory.
"The relocation will take at least another 10 years but we hope that they will cooperate with us, the government and Railway Asset Corporation (RAC).
"If the factory refuses to move, the redevelopment cannot take place," he told reporters after launching the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) dialysis centre in Seberang Jaya on Saturday (Sept 20).
Loke added that the redevelopment of Kampung Manis must proceed, adding that a private developer has already been appointed to undertake the project and provide free housing for local residents.
The refinery sits within the proposed redevelopment site, which also includes Kampung Manis.
Built in 1964, it sits on 7ha of RAC land and remains a key player in Malaysia’s sugar industry.
MSM, the country’s largest producer of refined sugar, is a subsidiary of FGV Holdings Bhd, a commercial arm of Federal Land Development Authority (Felda).
Felda chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek recently urged for a longer 30-year lease extension, citing the plant’s strategic location near the port that lowers logistics costs and allows cheaper market supply.
On Nov 11 last year, the Transport Ministry announced that 177 households in Kampung Manis, Perai, would receive free affordable homes to be built on land they have been squatting on for five decades.
About 300 families at Kampung Manis, whose ancestors worked at the MSM factory, have been living on RAC land for over 50 years despite several eviction attempts in the past that drew media attention.
