AL Plenary | Lawmakers turn against Polytex in P. Horizon case

Twelve out of a total of 17 spoken enquiries made by lawmakers yesterday at the Legislative Assembly (AL) addressed the “Pearl Horizon” case.

In fact, the interventions from the lawmakers involved little discussion, being almost exclusively direct messages to “Polytex,” the former concessionaire of land plot “P” in the Areia Preta district, which the government claimed back due to non-development after the granted construction period of 25 years expired.

The lawmakers gathered in a united critique of the company, recalling that the Court of Final Appeal has already ruled on the dispute between the company and the government, informing the company to fulfill its liabilities with buyers as fast as possible.

Some lawmakers went even further and accused the company of trying to hide behind a new lawsuit against the government, in order to delay the refunds and compensation to buyers.

Others, like Zheng Anting, who has frequently been a voice on the topic, recalled the shortcomings of the Land Law currently in force. Zheng called for a revision to the law, to allow the land concession period to be extended or renewed if land concessionaires are not to blame for delays.

“The Chief Executive should be empowered to renew the provisional concessions in such situations, so that they can be converted into definitive concessions,” Zheng said, adding, “I hope that the Government will respond to the demands of the public and move forward as soon as possible with the revision of the Land Law so that the people can indeed live and work with stability.”

Mak Soi Kun added to the words of Zheng, saying, “[the current Land] Law can be legal but its irrational… Is it acceptable [to have] a chaotic phenomenon, legal but irrational?”
The same lawmaker noted, “for a [large] group of residents… the laws come from a group of people that share the same space and live together.”

“When there are conflicts, this should be the only grounds to solve them,” Mak said, recalling that many experts had already expressed the idea that a review on the land law is needed.

On the same topic, lawmaker Kou Hoi In, besides urging Polytex to fulfill their duties with the buyers, called on the buyers to “pay attention to the good faith warning left by the government, about the right to claim compensation and its expiration period.” Kuo urged them to “protect their own interests by presenting their claim as soon as possible.”

The topic that went across the entire spectrum of the legislators, and also resonated with Ng Kuok Cheong from the pro-democratic wing, was the Social Welfare Fund. Ng continued, “If such [a] company [Polytex] still has any credibility… [they will] face the problem and compensate the buyers and the government.”