Today’s entry is from a guest writer in Penang, someone concerned about the unchecked property development in the state and its devastating impact on the environment:
Heartening news today from Selangor where the new state government has announced a ban on development of hillslopes of 26 degrees gradient or more. When will Penang follow Selangor’s lead?
Those who have not driven out to Batu Ferringhi recently will be in for a shock when they see what is happening to the hill slopes above Moonlight Bay, which now perhaps deserves the name Moonscape Bay! For months bulldozers and earth-movers have denuded the hills of tree cover up to the crest line to reveal acres of bare red lateritic soil on slopes which must well exceed 26 degrees.
Approaching this scene from town the driver is welcomed by a large billboard with the words “A short drive up to paradise”(Someone sure has a warped sense of humour! — Anil). Today, when I visited the site to show a friend, the whole hillside had been draped in blue plastic sheeting, surely an acknowledgment by the developer that the work has created a massive environmental and safety problem.
And further along the Batu Ferringhi road as you approach the Fort Auchry army camp on the right, dark green construction fencing has been erected along the left-hand side of the road for a project bearing the name “Plenitude”, evidently another scheme to build on fragile hillslopes still covered with jungle.
Let’s hope the new state government takes note and puts a stop to such rapacious property development projects.
http://ssquah.blogspot.com/2008/03/pulau-jerejak-raped-where-are.html
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I totally agree with you. I have been an annual long stay winter visitor to Penang (Batu Ferringhi), from wintry Canada, for 7 years & the hill cutting, which i see almost daily, is disgusting & shocking.
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YB Lim CM of Penang is busy in meeting with our PM Badawi
to get started all the “Mega Projects” without review and
so it is most unlikely he the YB Lim will ban hill slope
development projects like Selangor.
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thank so much for writhing the hill slopes story.(didn’t know it from news)
the government just create more impervious surface to create to many Non point sources pollutant
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The destruction of the country by BN and UMNO is manifold and all encompassing – the nation’s social fabric, economy, judiciary, morality, education, media and information, the constitution and environment.
BN/UMNO is a cancer.
We need the best “politico-physicians” to undo the damage.
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I am resident of Batu Ferringhi who is appalled by the destructive construction going on the hills along this road. Moonlight bay & the site prior to that oonthe way to Batu Ferringhi, belong to Ivory, who openly declared support for the BN govt via a large billboard in front of their showhouse opposite Island Plaza a month ago. As for the latter site, do notice developer have built a low retaining wall along the existing drain to prevent any mudflow to the road in case of heavy downpour; do note the drain is clogged with mud & construction rubbish, which empties to the bay. In addition, the developer does not know how to mitigate the slope construction as noted by numerous modifications & addition to the retaining wall in the past 1 year.
It’s time for the new state govt & the new MPPP to investigate if proper EIA study had been carried out, and the developers are competent & responsible enough to develop these sites on a sustainable basis.
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Well not just developing on the hill slope is the problem. Currently most developers focus on High End Condominiums which are aimed at highly paid people and most Penangite have to resort to buying houses in Mainland or Balik Pulau.
There is a site in Island Glades where they are building a big project to have a high-end condominum there. They are blasting rocks in a housing area. Come on.. Not all Penang-ite can afford expensive condos. They aim people whom are from either really filthy rich or people whom are not locals here in Penang and Malaysia.
When oh when, can they have mega projects for Mid to lower income people.. and global warming is happening too.. so jungle clearing should be out the window for now..
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now, now, now, “…they aim at people who(m) are from either filthy rich or people who)m) are not localss here in Penang or Malaysia…”, not all “non – locals and/or Malaysians” are by definition rich! Not all non – locals and/or non -Malaysians can afford expensive condo’s with a price way past the RM1 million ticket! as a matter of fact the big majority actually choose Penang for its beautiful flora and fauna, only to discover that every day another high rise is going up. it is this very big majority of expats who are doing the God damnest to talk to the Penangites to stop this terrible distruction. it are these expats who go to every possible meeting and rally to make the big though developer guys understand that deforestation with all its awfull consequentes has an adverse affect on everybody who lives here! don’t make the mistake that “all foreigners and/or non penangites” are pro distruction, idiot highrises and its ridiculous pricerange, we most certainly are against it. we too hear the blasts, right next to our door. they have been building 1.5 million townhouses without proper papers right where we live. blasting was done without any form of protection, 7 days a week non – stop and on a daily basis the rocks actually flew around our ears. we expats suffer with you, we site with you and we cry with you so don’t blame us! the blame lies entirely with the person(s) who hand out the permits, the police who allows the unsafe blasting to go and the unscrupulous developers who are in for the mega bucks! these developers happen to be people of your own kind so be fair, point the finger the right direction and address the right people. there is to much condemming of “foreigners” and “non – penangites” going on in Malaysia. it might be an idea to give thought to the fact that if these people were not here the job market might me really flushed down the tube, life would be a hell of a lot harder. be honest and fair and rest assured that 99.9% of the foreigners and non-penagites want what you want, peace and an island to be proud of, we most certainly would!
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Hello,
I am a Penang resident also affected by a dangerous hillslope project, complete with the rock blasting, mud slides and flooding, and damage to our neighbourhood from rock blasting flyrock.
Our residents have undergone all the meetings with MPPP, JMG (Minerals and Geoscience in charge of blasting safety), DOE, Police, and also YB Teh. Without YB Teh none of these meetings would have taken place.
Unfrotunately, YB Teh is only one Assemblyman, and even though he is on the side of the residents and common sense and reason, he can’t do it all. (even though he tries). The agencies mentioned above have a job to do and they aren’t doing it. YB Teh shouldn’t have to watch after these people like a group of truant school kids.
The above mentioned agencies are responsible for ensuring safety and common sense, but after witnessing the problems with our own eyes, is there any question that they are not doing their job?
In the numerous meetings with these agencies, it is obvious that what they are mainly concerned with is avoiding any action or responsibility (which they have done time after time while lives are in danger), passing the buck – and (perhaps) continuing to collect their bribe money from developers(?) – and look the other way. These are not responsible, efficient, well run agencies. They are a sham, and that is why these problems are occurring all over Malaysia, time and time again, year after year.
Someone asked if these agencies and people are really qualified to judge whether these projects are safe or not. With personal experience in the geotechnical field, I can tell you absolutely that these people have no idea what they are doing, and really are not concerned at all about the safety of the public. (Even if they could tell the difference between safe and unsafe as in Hong Kong)
We had a meeting at Komtar with all of the above agencies to discuss rock blasting where flyrock hit nearby buildings 5 times in the last 18 months. FIVE TIMES! And still the MPPP ‘Engineer’ refused to stop the blasting. All he could say is that ‘rock blasting is an approved method of earth removal’. Does this sound reasonable or right to anyone reading this?
The residents of Chee Seng and George Aerea are doing the right thing! They are organizing a protest to bring attention to this whole mess. Sure, in the meetings the MPPP puts conditions on the developers, and in many cases allows them to continue work. The developers go away laughing, because they know no one is going to inspect their work and actually ENFORCE these conditions. It is one big joke, and I have seen this scenario play out time and time again near our home.
The message to Lim Guan Eng is clear. Either he is going to keep his word on CAT and do something about these problems, or he isn’t and in that case he is no better than the previous BN government. Period. It is time for him to take action NOW. As someone said, either you are part of the solution, or part of the problem. If he doesn’t take action NOW, the he is definitely part of the problem, and should be out of office as soon as possible. This is a straightforward matter of common sense and public safety.
And if nothing is done by him, you can be sure that there will be more landslides, more people killed and injured, more homes damaged and destroyed, and more finger pointing. And it will happen right here in Penang to our neighbours. It isn’t a question of what the right thing to do really is. IT IS OBVIOUS NOW. These developers are out of control, they are unscrupulous, and they will continue until the citizens of Malaysia stand up and tell the government loud and clear. Either this stops, or you are out.
I welcome everybody’s opinion on what I have written. Thank you for reading it.
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