Proper check needed on land in Jalan Chan Siew Teong, Tanjung Bungah

GEORGE TOWN: Citizens Awareness Chant (Chant) Group today urged the Penang City Council (MBPP) to hire a geotechnical engineer to do a proper check on a piece of land in Jalan Chan Siew Teong, Tanjung Bungah, that has the potential of experiencing landslides.
Its advisor, Yan Lee said a hillslope area on that land was seen covered with a large blue canvas and it had caused concern among residents near the area.
"The land behind this road looks very 'botak' (bald) and it has been 'botak' for a few weeks already. The land owner had just used a tarpaulin to cover it but when there was wind or rain, the tarpaulin moved and it has come off and you can see that erosion is happening.
"Please employ a geotechnical engineer to take a look, do a proper check on this land to make sure it is safe for the neighbours and other residents living nearby as they are concerned whether there can be a landslide.
"The hillslope area is adjacent to a big retaining wall failure that caused a sinkhole after a road leading to a newly-built housing area in Beverly Hills, Tanjung Bungah collapsed early Sunday morning due to continuous rain since last Saturday (Nov 4)," he told reporters, here.

Yan Lee said more checks should be conducted on the hillslopes to avert the recurrence of the Oct 21 landslide in Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah, which took 11 lives.
"Look into this piece of land here and declare to the residents living next to it, below it, whether this land is safe and what type of protection needs to be done. I am sure the land owner will work with you (MBPP). They are willing to spend to make this all safe for everyone," he said.
Yan Lee said as for now, nothing was happening on that land and there was also no information signboard of any project to be developed in the area.
Meanwhile, one of the residents near the hillslope area, James Nunes, 68, said development in that area was so fast and he was not sure whether there would be another development on that land.
He claimed that from the balcony of his house in Taman Leader, tarred road and street lights could be seen in the area.
Another resident, Tan Ewe Bee, 73, claimed that since he lived in the area 10 years ago, he found that many hills near the residential area had been cut for development.
"The hills here used to be beautiful but these were eventually cut to build roads and so on. Sometimes, big boulders would come tumbling down or water gushing down like waterfalls.
"Before approving any development project, the state government must carefully see and study first. Don't just approve, so as to avoid any adverse consequences," Tan said. — Bernama