The activists want to inspect the damage and are calling for full restoration of the Bukit Relau hill-top and not just slope stabilisation.
Penang Forum (PF) would like to commend YB Chow Kon Yeow for his full disclosure on the actions taken by MPPP against the two landowners responsible for the illegal clearing and destruction of Bukit Relau (The Malay Mail Online, 6 January 2014).
The inability of the landowners to restore the hill despite the actions taken to date indicate the sensitive nature of the area. Penang Forum would like to call upon the state government to re-gazette the lands there from residential to just hill land to prevent further destruction of the hills. Given the global weather change that we are experiencing, it is necessary for the state government to take serious actions to protect our hills.
Further we urge the other authorities such as the Department of Environment and the Land Office to take action within their respective jurisdictions to penalise all wrong doers and be alert to prevent any further illegal land clearing.
In the name of transparency, Penang Forum would like to request a site visit to be organised by YB Chow’s office for members of the press and related NGOs such as the Malaysian Nature Society to view the extent of the destruction and and the remedial actions that are necessary to restore the place. We would like to emphasise that the efforts should be towards restoration and not just slope stabilisation.
We would also like to commend YB Teh Yee Cheu and his two supporters for “going bald” to draw attention to the plight of the hill. If not for their actions, the people of Penang would not have known the current status of the place. Their non-violent action to express their concern for the environment should be lauded and supported.
Penang Forum Steering Committee
25 January 2014
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SP, either Seberang Prai or Sungaai Petani, is a good option for islanders who are dislillusioned with development.
Disillusion and all talk is just wasting time as this arrogant Tokong LGE just won`t bother about you. Plan for the next GE on how to get rid of him
Economic forces are causing population migration whereby the financially stronger folks remain or move into Penang island while less priviledged folks have to move over ‘seberang” to mainland.
May be the wild boars around botak hill have better chance to survive than most folks living in fast changing landscape of the island.
Economic forces caused by speculative penchants of the richie (buying en-masse from developers @ high discounts from already surreally planned home prices & selling for dizzy profits to the genuine home buyers) are irresponsible acts in a civilised society no different from the feudal system of landlords & emperors or monopolistic manipulation of business. It is not a totally one-sole survival factor of the economically strong & financially capable & socially mobile of the rat race that shapes socio-economic changes like what is happening now. Be careful to discern the ‘primary under-currents’ of cause factors at play hidden from the… Read more »
Yes, please protest openly @ Komtar, Anil can you please organise it. Tq !
On the way up to Batu Ferringhi, opposite the floating mosque, those blocks of apartments are really eye sore, they have blocked the hills away entirely.
How i wish orang Penang were as awake then as now. Sometimes i really do wonder what did they do then, busy counting money with all the “kangtau” from Gerakan???
If all of them were as environmentally sensitve then like now, then, today we dont have Gurney Drive in such a sorry state???
You have to remember, back then, people were kept in the dark. There was little Internet penetration, no independent news websites, no blogs, no social media while the mainstream media, controlled by the BN, seldom reported any critical news.
If one thinks all the kangtau only happened during Gerakan era which kept mouths shut, today we are seeing swap deals that make no different from what those kangtau did to Penang. The good thing about 308 is it awakened the fearful souls, mouth shut or media shut to demand for Change For the Better.
Are we seeing Better Change to the hills or the sea for the better?
I wonder 3 joss sticks & one black chicken can really ‘change’ fixated minds of idol-worshippers into blindness?
Penangites should openly oppose future plan to flatten the hills to build homes for teh rich!
After inspecting Bukit Relau should move over to Cameron Highlands to do a case study of the degradation of the highlands over there.
Great to see so many standing up for the hill . Was wondering why no one stand up for the hills in mainland Penang .
Penang Forum is NGO that loving the tokong very much. I suspect this is a drama staged to please people like anil and co. We want to see the end result and not drama like this one.
You have b… Get up from that chair first.
This is the problem of having an overly smart tokong leader. He knows the people priority. Racist vs environment abuses. He knows people will pick environment abuses party rather than racist party. So in the end, he can abuse all environment he wanted and still people will vote him.
Now you want to laugh or cry under this circumstances ???
Where there is money to be profited both-ways, anything goes for the Komtar Tokong entity. State gomen in dire straits for federal funding, any swap deal with greed-induced but recalcitrant developers can-go-ahead. As long as there is cosmopolitan-style development ‘at all cost’ to show-off as CAT Portfolio Showcase regardless of environmental, social & safety detrimentals, no one can accuse the Tokong of not doing anything, regardless of the dire consequences. Long term strategic thinking for sustainable development is not practical to an impatient leadership pushed + pulled by corporate interests… The Relau Hill is already bled & botak-ed. The trees… Read more »
some (allege) relatively lenient against Botak Hill due to an obligation to a tycoon who has granted the use of a school compound during 308 ? need to say more ?