Penang civil societies reject state's inadequate decision on hillslope development

GEORGE TOWN: Penang's civil societies through its umbrella body — the Penang Forum have rejected the decision by the state government to not impose a moratorium on all forms of hillslope development.
State Housing Committee chairperson Jagdeep Singh Deo announced that the present measures to control hillslope development was more than adequate, citing that the state will continue to enforce a ban of not permitting any development to take place at a slope angle of above 76m (250 feet) from the sea-level.
The state executive councillors' meeting had deliberated on the proposed moratorium following the deadly landslide which buried alive 11 construction workers at an affordable housing site off Lengkok Lembah Permai in Tanjung Bungah.
Forum's associate member Manuel Nicholas said that the ban of nothing above 76m was laudable, but what was of concerned to the forum was whether the state can pledge that it will conduct proper enforcement of its own regulations at all times.
"Often enough, the state announces that it will do this and that, but what happens to the enforcement bit? It is one of the main worries among the civil societies in Penang. Also if the state reverts to a status quo practise, they must know that the present guidelines have yet to check the spread in the frequencies of flooding and landslips throughout the state."
He said that the some of the projects approved in the past were defined as special projects by the local authorities.
Such projects were allowed exemptions including in building at above the 76m levels, said Nicholas.
Nicholas, who is a Sungai Ara Residents Association committee member, also wants the state to pay more attention to enforcing its regulation.
Tanjung Bungah Residents Association president Meenakshi Raman said that the interpretation of the special projects need to be clearer.
"The forum members are fine if the projects are for essential services for the state. What we do not want is for special projects to entail condominium projects which only serves to benefit house buyers but not the public."
Their views was echoed by Taman Sri Nibong Residents Association committee member Jeffrey Ho, who said that the state should just adopt a total ban on all forms of hillslope development rather than only on ones above 76m.
Reasons been that there were many signs that the environment cannot sustain the present rapid development pace allowed by the state, said Ho.
He suggested that the state should consider relocating the concentration of projects to the mainland where there is more land.
In another development, the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) accused the Department of Environment (DOE) of not been transparent over the issue of approval for the affordable housing project where the landslide occurred.
Certain elements of the DOE reports were only released after the landslide occurred and not during the discussion on approving the project in 2015, the Lord Mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Shariff told a press conference.
The DOE director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Najuib Kamarul Che Ibrahim urged the media to provide the department with the necessary information so they can study the claims and issue a statement later.