Tanjung Bunga state assembly member, Teh Yee Cheu, says his position is simple: No cutting of steep hill slopes – Photos by Anil Netto
Tanjung Bunga residents protesting at the bottom of the steep hill slope along Solok Tan Jit Seng
When the Tanjung Bunga protesters invited their elected rep, Teh Yee Cheu of the DAP, to say a few words at their “coffee party” yesterday, they introduced him as “the people’s YB”.
Teh walked up to the mike, and along the way, picked up a placard which read “No more Class 3 and 4 hill cutting”. Pointing to the placard, he told the residents that this was his position. It was clear that he was on the residents’ side and he told them to continue with their “parties”.
At Solok Tan Jit Seng, developer DynamicPro plans to build 25 three-storey town-houses on a hill-slope which residents claim has a gradient of over 65 degrees. That’s steep! (Class 3 is over 25 degrees and Class 4 over 35 degrees). The project site on the slope looks down on a row of houses, behind which stands the Tanjung Bunga school. Above the project site on the slope lies the precariously perched Pearl Hill apartments. Before the Appeals Board could decide on the residents’ concerns, several trees on the hill-slope were felled.
The Pearl Hill apartments perched precariously above the project site.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was also invited, did not turn up. Instead, he made sure state exco member Phee Boon Poh, who recently assumed the environment portfolio, attended.
In contrast to Teh, Phee was more guarded when addressing the residents and said he would have to walk a “middle road” between the developers’ and the people’s interests and make an independent decision. He said if he openly sided with either party, he could be accused of corruption.
This prompted a disgusted placard-carrying protester to blurt out, “Political talk!” which Phee overheard. But the exco member remained non-committal, maintaining that the state government would need to consider all factors.
One resident, Ismail, said he was worried about the safety of the residents especially the children at the Tanjung Bunga school. Another resident told the state government reps to take back the message that the residents are not stupid. “Most of us voted for change on March 8 (last year) – you can ask the people here, many of them voted for the DAP – but we want to see change.”
Yet another resident said the issue of the state having to pay compensation to developers for projects terminated was a lame excuse. “There are ways and means of stopping these developers.” One of them suggested that the state authorities could impose tough restrictions on rock blasting and the height of retaining walls, making it all but impossible to proceed with the project. Or the state government could investigate how such a project was approved on such a steep hill slope in the first place.
Residents later took Phee for a tour of the area to show him how serious the Tanjung Bunga environmental problem is and some of the likely problems that could arise.
The residents told Phee they worry another four high-rise apartment blocks could be coming up next to the existing four in Tanjung Bunga
Clearly, the state government will have to decide whose side they are on: the residents’ or the developers’ whose projects could pose a threat to public safety. The residents, for their part, are not about to accept any dangerous or unsustainable development lying down.
I AM a resident of Tanjung Bungah, and while I do not have total confidence in my developer, I feel safe. At least safe enough to live in my apartment.
Go to the residential area directly opposite the floating mosque. You will see a hug banner saying “Save the Hill” hanged on a condominium located on the same hill.
If residents of the neighbourhood are concerned about their safety, they should first start by moving out of the condominiums they are living in. Most protesters themselves live on the same Class 3 and 4 slopes of which development they are protesting.
Open your Google Earth and have a look at the development of Penang Island currently. Most of the available “safe” (according to your definition) land is already unavailable on the east side. What do you propose? That everyone start living on Balik Pulau?
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Buyers beware – it looks like another incident of landslides similar to the recent Bukit Antarabangsa in the near future. The Penang State government must make all the buyers sign a declaration form that the buyers are responsible when they buy units or lots in this area and they should not cry like crybabies when any tragedy that may strike in the future.
When there are no buyers, the developers will look for other safer areas to develop housing estates and apartment and other palaces.
In this case, the hands of the state government are tied as the project was approved by the previous state government under Tan Sri Koh.
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Anil and those protesters,
I really respect your view on environments, it is a good cause, no doubt about that. But not the way you all start to threaten the current state govt to comply with yr needs.
Sometimes looks like all of you are not living in a realistic world and try to switch the crime committed by previous govt to the current one. How all of u expect the current govt to meet yr demand to cancel the project which have been signed and agreed by previous govt? While all of you may act like holier than thou, claimed environment under threat with this project, want to save environment and etc……but what is the flip side or the repercusion if the current govt order to cancel it? It will create multi-millions suit and damages and etc. Not only that, how you expect the current govt to deal with new business? since everything also can simply cancel at will by govt even after contract signed and agreed.
Why don’t you all also request the current govt to issue order to all residents at Coastal Tower, Strait Regency, Marina Tower and etc. to vacate their unit??????
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Best way to stop all these activities is to force those buyers from buying those units
Willing buyers willing sellers mah……
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Penangites,
Well, it has been discussed before in Anil’s blogs. But with the federal government lurking around like a hungry tiger wanting to have LGE for breakfast, lunch & dinner
Guys,
Ain’t we expecting too much?
Why not just go after the buyers? Hound them till they give up. More effective that way
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REALITY HURTS.
True what is said. Agreements signed cannot be cancelled without paying compensation. Especially if money has already been used up. I think there is also a disclosure clause. So the dealings, everything is secret.
This is reality. BN still rules with their laws and regulations. LGE and company have their hands tied. They are short of money to run the government. Have to beg BN to allocate more to Penang.
Have you all forgotten, there is a economic crises and Penang WILL be feeling it. All factories still open or what?
Have you all paid your assessment, quit rent and license, etc so LGE can run the state. What is LGE going to run Penang with? Salt water?
IF YOU GUYS REALLY KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO RUN AN OPPOSITION STATE AND NEED TO BEG MONEY FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
TOO BAD. NEXT GE-13, CHANGE THE WHOLE GOVERNMENT THEN YOU CAN DEMAND ALL WHAT YOU WANT. BY THAT TIME MAYBE TOO LATE, MALAYSIA WILL BE BROKE, MAYBE BANKRUPT.
PENANG (TG BUNGA) PEOPLE, PLEASE THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU MAKE ACCUSATIONS.
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we need to analyse the situation entirely and educate ourselves with facts before making a comment on this issue.
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What do the rules say? If there’s no way the developers can legally get approvals for such slopes but somehow they did, then there is a case. The current govt can definitely take steps. But not those projects approved well within limits.
Oh yes, if the protestors are sure BN would retract the approvals (which the current state government is loth to do for some reason), I say go ahead. No problems there, well within their rights. The state government must not be held to ransom by anyone and both sides must do what they think is right.
Have the protestors who reside in Pearl Hill Apartments vacating yet? Or are they not involved in the protests? What is the slope gradient? Seems steep to me in that picture….
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Just who do these people think they are using threats to push their way around. To even suggest that “the state authorities could impose tough restrictions” midway through the project, isn’t that abuse of power! Two wrongs don’t make a right!
Which state gov approved the projects? Koh Tsu Koon’s.
They claim to be staying there for a long time, so who gave the power to Koh Tsu Koon term after term so that he could approve the projects? The residents themselves!! Why didn’t they vote KTK out when the super precarious pearl hill project was being built? Maybe they thought living so close to the CM sure must be very safe. So live with it and pay for your past poor decisions!
If the new state gov have to bend backwards to meet your demands just because you voted them in this time, what will happen when the house buyers who’s housing project you just stopped protest and threaten to vote them out if the project doesn’t continue!
It is fair if the residents demand no more future approvals by the new state gov, but what has been done has been done.
Frankly I question the sincerity in their fear for their safety. The super precarious pearl hill project has been up for donkey years. If they are genuinely fearful for their safety, they would have sold of their property to someone else willing to take the risk a long time ago. What’s stopping them from being proactive when their own safety is at stake.
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[Another resident told the state government reps to take back the message that the residents are not stupid. “Most of us voted for change on March 8 (last year) - you can ask the people here, many of them voted for the DAP - but we want to see change.”]quote
Just because you voted for DAP doesn’t mean that the DAP have to do things YOUR way and to satisfy YOUR every whim and fancy. If voter had THEIR way, there would be anarchy in Penang. Think “Bruce Almighty” the movie.
It’s childish and UMNO-ish to think that one’s vote can be directly translated into gratification and benefits.
By “change” I believe we mean more than that. I believe the “change “that was voted for was so that people’s voices are heard and considered in govt decision making instead of having them unilateral decisions. Just because YOU want to stop those hillside projects and have the govt take the brunt of penalties doesn’t mean that EVERY OTHER Penangite/Malaysian wants that too.
By all means, convince more people to join your cause so that it gathers more weight; but never ever think that Penang just consist of Tg. Bungah and what is works for you, works for the rest of the state as well. LGE and Phee are representatives of the whole state and not just Tg. Bungah, so you can’t expect them to JUST consider the needs of Tg. Bungah residents alone like YB Teh.
By virtue of their positions, Tg. Bungah is everything to Teh, but to LGE and Phee, it is just one of the many constituents that they have to look after.
In conclusion, I’m sure many more will support the cause if only the Tg. Bungah residents can show that stopping these projects brings net benefits the state, be it tangibly or intangibly so.
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Always, some lame-duck, unintelligent comment saying residents of hillslopes must move out if they’re not happy… That doesn’t address the issues in the least.
Actually, I think the developer of that project along Solok Tan Jit Seng is equally stupid. Look at the townhouses perched above… would you want to buy any unit on the slopes directly below these?!
Perception is everything; whether or not the units are stable, whether or not the slopes can be safely cut, retained and built upon, are immaterial. It will take a long, long time before people can forget Highland Towers and Bukit Antarabangsa. And truth be told, there will always be some other collapse somewhere, every now and then, another landslide, and fresh fears will surface.
This project will be doomed to failure. It will be very, very costly to build on the slopes. There are a multitude of hidden costs in geotechnical works of any nature. The consequent costs will make the project unsaleable. At those prices, there are lots of more viable [and safer!] options to look at.
Don’t forget the economic woes that have yet to hit our shores. Banks will be increasingly disinclined to finance developer as well as buyers. The attendant risks are greater than for a normal project.
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What’s happened to the super dept of hillslope experts that LGE announced he was setting up, to be modelled after Hong Kong? Hong Kong spends half a billion per year maintaining the program. LGE will find it’s much cheaper to just pay out the compensations.
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Who on planet earth dare to approve development on a hillslope with a gradient of over 65 degrees? No doubt, it is our ex-CM, Koh Tsu Koon. There (could have been some) hanky-panky going on…. The case is on the appeal board, the appeal board has the final say, no one can sue it.
Why fool around your political future and let Umno’s crony reap the benefit? For all those hard-core partisan supporters go to Hell! If someone to blast a boulder less than 50 meter away from your home, you think it is acceptable. I would like to invite you guys to watch the spectacular blasting in action in one of the resident’s home. Coffee and even alcohol will be serve to strengthen your guts.
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Papaya,
The compensation plus puntive one can runs up with that half Billion. Plus, you got to pay for the lawyers. I mean the other side. Do you know how much the revenue LGE government collected last year? 300 million Malaysian dollars.
It’s cheaper & more effective to go after the buyers. No buyers, seller would close shop.
Which bring back to these suggestions? Raise development fees for the developer. Impose environmental fee. Raise quit rent & assessment for those people staying at the slopes. Enforce rules for buyer to buy exorbitant insurance. Better still ask them to sign indemnity
I guess that’s much better ways
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Hi purple_papaya,
Don’t worry! I already make a prediction about a six month long rainy season taking place in this Bolehland. The rain already started since March 5, the day I posted a special write-up on my blog on an impending disaster. The land is getting wet and heavy as days passed by. Five more months to go. If I am wrong you guys can laugh at me…. I will make sure LGE receive an urgent alert requesting his immediate attention. I can tell you guys now that I already start monitoring signs for potential landslide, if there is any I can tell! Don’t worry! I will let LGE informed…
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A friend told me that certain official in MPPP has houses in the vicinity — hmmm… I am wondering if the Surin cause championed by the Aerias has been hijacked to now become the Tan Jit Sing cause … then of course, stopping any hill side development is a step in the right direction for Penang.
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Aiyoh, you call yourself Penangite! Please la if you do not have kampong to balik to, don’t hang around and buat malu to the real Penangites.
Your interest is 101 per cent self gain!
I have only one word to describe such TRIPOD initiatives. …
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Sour Saro is blind to any penangites who has the opportunity to migrate, but still does not feel that it is right that any green lungs should be destroyed by inconsiderate developer. There is still flat land to develop where costs are lower, so why are developers cutting hill slope.Sour Saro obviously is a kampong folk who is a disgrace to himself for wanting to destroy the few remaining green lungs of Penang.
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Purple Papaya’s comment leads me to wonder if the Developer has anything to lose at all should the project fail halfway due to “act of God” when the townhouses collapse onto the project?
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Apart from safety issues, developers should study environmental effects of overdeveloping the slopes along our beautiful tourist belt. My friends who migrated years ago and returned were heartsick to find Tanjong Bungah and B.Ferringhi unrecognisable.
There seems to be absolutely no control over the many houses and condominiums sprouting up along the drive to B.Ferringhi, and we Penangites have lost the idealic Island we knew as children.
Development is good, but not when it is carried out by greedy developers who do not give a damn about the consequences.
It was our hope (and still is) that with the DAP in Penang, they would study all bulding permits and revoke approvals for buildings which threaten the safety of the people as well as the environment.
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Very likely that all taxes been paid to MPPP and state goverment will use to pay compensation to developers in Tanjong Bungah and UNESCO HERITAGE ZONE area. Maybe this is the change we voted for.
In my opinion, Tanjong Bungah residents are very hypocrite because they are the owner of the some hill slope development condominiums. If you are so enviromentalist, then don’t buy these properties at the first place. No buyer means no demand for such property development. Come to next election, just vote for BN and your beloved UMNO. Let’s we bet whether you will get what you desire or not!
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I was at the protest and observed the following:
1. There were only 2 or 3 households from the immediate vicinity that was involved in the protest. They are the residents of Solok Tan JIt Seng. They are 8 or 10 households there but only 3 hoiuseholds turned up.
2. Not a single resident from Jln Tan Jit Seng, Geh Chong Keat, Ahmad bin Kasa, Haji Rafie, Marie Pitchay turned up
3. Not a single resident from Pearl Hill, houses on stilts turned up or if there is, only a pathetic few
4. No representative from tanjung Bungah School turned up
The people who are there are all outsiders!!!!
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Go vote for BN. Show your muscle strength and see how far can that prevent any future landslide. We all know it is going to happen one day in future, just like the musical chair. The music is going to stop one day, so blame it on LGE and DAP.
What a bunch of loser you guys are.
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Now where is that pathetic little eunuch who was responsible for all this?
Gave your party a miss, did he or did you guys simply forgot to invite him?
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The variety of views is interesting but largely shows that people will believe what they want to believe, whether their views are supported by facts or not seem to be immaterial.
First of all not every Tanjung Bungah resident live on hill-slopes, but many are willing to lend support to the move to call for rejecting development on STEEP hill slopes, whether they are in Tanjung Bungah, Paya Terubong, Bayan Lepas, Relau or anywhere else in the country. If you care for the environment, it doesn’t matter where you are.. one way or another, sooner or later you will be affected. Do Penangites not empathise with those who were affected by the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide?
Many comments of the comments seem to show a shortsighted view… speculative short term development is more important than taking care about our hills and heritage. If you seriously look at the State’s economic base which is manufacturing and tourism, you would do your utmost to protect our natural environment. Penang was recently voted one of the top ten places for expatriates in Asia…and one of the reasons must be having a conducive living environment. Cut the hill and it will be gone forever.
Before claiming about the millions of compensation, will someone confirm when the plans were approved before of after MArch 08, 2008?
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The very same people who spoke loudly against hillslope development now claim nothing can be done by LGE. Now they accuse people of being “kiasi”.
Come on guys, if LGE can threaten Gamuda and demand for millions $$ why can’t he do something here ? …
As for the Tanjung Bunga ADUN Teh, he should quit if he can’t help the residents for he has failed. These ADUNs got to understand that they are there to SOLVE problems and not join the residents in waving slogans. We don’t an ADUN to do it. This goes to show that these DAP and PKR ADUNs still do not have the mindset or maturity to be a part of the ruling govt. Well, coming to think of it, we can’t blame them since the head of the state himself still stuck in “Opposition” mentality and in reverse gear. LGE’s forte is in issuing irrational “hentam” statements and not solving problems.
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