GEORGE TOWN: As developers get ready to erect more high-rise buildings on the hillslopes of Penang island, more people have come out to protest against what they see as the destruction of the environment.

At least nine projects are believed to be in the pipeline in Tanjung Bunga and Batu Feringghi along the northeastern coast of the island, Bukit Gambier near Universiti Sains Malaysia in Gelugor and Sungai Ara in the southwestern interior.

Among the development projects which came under heavy scrutiny and criticism was the land reclamation in Bayan Mutiara in the south-east of the island.

Tanjung Bunga Residents Association chairman George Aeria said the area could not sustain any more high-rise buildings.

He added: “As land becomes more scarce, developers are moving towards the hills, but they are not only building on the slopes they are cutting into them.

“We are seeing mud and muddy water streaming down to the sea.”

Sunrise Garden Kondominium management committee chairman Manuel Nicholas said high-rise buildings had to be spread out for proper development.

He disagreed that there was insufficient flat land on the island.

“There is a lot of space and flat land on the west coast of the island. If proper roads and facilities are built, people would want to move there,” he said. Sunrise Garden is in Sungai Ara.

The state government has come under heavy criticism for hillslope developments since 2008.

On May 30, residents of Mount Pleasure in Batu Feringghi objected to the approval given by the Penang Municipal Council for the construction of 21 four-storey villas and 80 double-storey bungalows.

A group calling themselves the Concerned Residents of Mount Pleasure have been objecting to the development in their area since January 2010.

On the other side of the island, Sungai Ara residents protested against the approval issued by the council for two hillside development projects on April 8.

Both the Penang Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat have blamed each other for the situation, accusing the other of approving the projects or failing to revise the plans.

While Pakatan leaders have said that some of the projects were approved by the then Barisan government, there have been allegations that a huge project stalled by the previous government was approved by the present state government.

Source: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Some 60 villagers of Kampung Pokok Assam in Jelutong protested against an ongoing development project which they claimed was damaging the road and causing flash floods.

Jelutong Timur Residents’ action committee chairman Zarus Yusof, who led the group of villagers, claimed the housing project had caused the 3.2ha land there to sink, resulting in blocked drainage.

He also alleged that heavy construction vehicles had damaged the roads.

“As a result, we have been experiencing flash floods even when the rain is not heavy.

“How are we to move about in our own village?” Zarus said during the protest which was held along the main road outside Kampung Pokok Assam yesterday.

The villagers carried placards and banners claiming they were duped by the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP).

Zarus said the council should have built alternative routes for the villagers before the project started instead of blocking some of the roads there.

Villager Kung Soon Guan, 62, claimed the house he has been living in since birth had been demolished and he was now renting a room in Jalan Gemas.

The village is believed to be about 100 years old.

Residents claimed they were duped by the state government, which wanted to evict them from the village to make way for access roads to the new development project.

“We were given forms which we thought were census forms distributed by the State Land Office when in actual fact, the forms were to obtain our support for the roads to be built and to widen the Jelutong Muslim cemetery plot,” Zarus said.

He added that about 200 people from 34 families were affected by the project.

Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi said the state had met with the villagers and informed them that they would be given units of houses as compensation by the developer.

Source: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Hillslope development in Penang will only be approved if the land is less than 76m high.

However, State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said developers who had obtained planning permission from the Seberang Prai Municipal Council and Penang Municipal Council prior to 2007 were exempted from the ruling.

“Yes, we have approved hillslope development but our approval is subject to scrutiny by the high-risk land development committee as well as over 10 other relevant authorities, including the local councils’ internal departments,” he said.

Chow said the local councils were finalising their reports on hillslope development approvals for submission to the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

“We will submit a full report by this week,” he said.

State Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said recommendations of the high-risk land development committee, which he heads, were not binding on the local councils.

The committee comprises professional bodies such as the Mineral and Geo-Science Department, Public Works Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department and Public Works Institute.

State Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said hillslope development was necesssary as the Penang population of 1.6 million was expected to reach two million by 2020.

Source: The Star

THE Bukit D.O. Recreation Park, off Jalan Sri Bukit in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, will be given a RM2mil facelift under a landscaping project initiated by the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP).

MPSP president Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the Penang Water Supply Corporation Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) would sponsor the upgrading works, which would begin in September and be completed by March next year.

The project is under a series of corporate social responsibility (CSR) landscaping projects by the MPSP.

“Up until May, MPSP has obtained sponsorship for 12 CSR landscaping projects, which are among 37 projects that have been identified for this year.

“So far, we have completed two CSR projects, namely the Vision Park in Kepala Batas and Taman Tugu Kota Demokrasi Bagan in Mak Mandin, while the rest are in different stages of development,” she said, when Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng launched the Bukit D.O. Recreation Park CSR landscaping project at the park yesterday.

Maimunah said under the project, the Bukit D.O. Recreation Park would have 100 car parking lots, a 390m-long bicycle trek, a 360m-long jogging trek, a jungle trek, six toilet cubicles, benches, sales kiosk, proper fencing as well as more plants and outdoor exercise equipment.

She said the park’s electrical substation, water pump, gateway, drains, reflexology path, gazebo, covered lookout point, therapy park, covered aerobics base, yoga base, hilltop base and staircases would also be repaired and upgraded.

She said the other nine sponsored CSR landscaping projects were at the Bandar Perda roundabout, Taman Tunku Seberang Jaya roundabout, Bukit Minyak ‘A’ roundabout, Bukit Minyak ‘B’ roundabout, Bukit Tengah roundabout, Highway Auto-City Juru, Seberang Jaya roundabout, Jalan Tenggiri roundabout and Bandar Putra Bertam roundabout.

Lim said the little known Bukit D.O. park was named after the acronym for ‘district officer’, as the former official residence of the central Seberang Prai district officer was located on the hill, along with the district’s former public library building.

Also present was Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng, Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik, Padang Lalang assemblyman Tan Cheong Heng and PBAPP corporate affairs manager K. Jeyabalan.

Source: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Penang may have been named one of Asia’s most liveable cities, but two non-governmental organisations here beg to differ.

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) argued that Penang was becoming unliveable due to “mindless development”.

“The kind of development that is taking place leaves no space for conservation,” said S.M. Mohamed Idris, who is president of both NGOs.

He claimed that hills were being destroyed while in places like Tanjung Tokong, the sea was being polluted by reclamation.

Yesterday, a small group of CAP and SAM members staged a 15-minute peaceful protest outside the construction site of a hillslope housing project in Bukit Gambier ahead of World Environment Day today.

Speaking to reporters later, Idris said the current number of high-rise developments was unnecessary.

“Based on our observations, we estimate that 40% to 50% of high-rise units in Penang are unoccupied,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government, state government and local authorities to halt all hillslope projects and gazette forests and mangrove areas as permanent forest reserves.

“Coastal reclamation and aquaculture activities in Penang have also contributed to the destruction of the natural coastal ecosystem. Approxi­mately 70% of mangrove forests in the state have been destroyed by development projects.

“All these threats to the environment have led to at least 40 species of river and marine life to be endangered or extinct,” Idris said.

When contacted, state Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said: “We appreciate their concerns. I hope we can work together and that they provide us with their insight and help.”

Source: The Star