‘PENANG LESS GREEN NOW’
More hillslopes, hilly areas being cleared
YET another DAP lawmaker has expressed concern over the diminishing greenery in Penang. Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu said the Pearl of the Orient was less green now than in the past.
However, he said, the loss of greenery had been occurring since the late 1980s and early 1990s.
As such, Teh said there was nothing wrong with veteran DAP leader Dr Tan Seng Giaw’s recent lament over the changing coastline and diminishing greenery in Balik Pulau.
“Many developments have taken place in the state since the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“However, over the past 10 years, the developments are somewhat more aggressive, with more hillslopes and hilly areas being cleared. It is true that the Penang government has not touched a single inch of its permanent forest reserve, but what about the other hillslopes and hilly areas?
“Everyone can see the vast developments taking shape in this island state, unless of course, one is in a total state of denial,” he told the New Straits Times.
Citing his constituency as an example, Teh said he had vehemently objected to numerous development projects on hillslopes and hilly areas during his two terms in office.
“Instead, what we are seeing now is more high-rises being built, some of which are even higher than those built previously.
“Of course, the capitalists, in this case the developers, will go for every opportunity to make money. Only those in power, who have strong willpower, can stop this,” he said.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Dr Tan recounted what he had witnessed during a drive in Balik Pulau.
“Going around Penang island today, we find the coast is changing, and Balik Pulau is less green. The population of 850,000 require houses and employment. The priority is to preserve the forest and the greenery.”
Following Dr Tan’s posting, state MCA chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng had said that the latter’s comment should not be taken lightly.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was asked to comment on Dr Tan’s complaint, on Wednesday, had revealed that the veteran DAP leader had gone “incommunicado” since early this year.
This prompted Dr Tan to hit back at Lim, rubbishing his claims.
He told the NST he could be contacted at any time of the day unless he was talking on his mobile phone.
Dr Tan had also said that he was merely expressing his observations during his drive in Balik Pulau, and that he was not making any insinuations.