‘Are 4 hill-clearing projects in Penang linked?’
GEORGE TOWN: The Citizens Awareness Chant Group (Chant) has urged the Penang government to come clean on whether four controversial hill-clearing projects on the island are related.
Chant legal adviser Yan Lee also wanted to know if the people behind the projects — Botak Hill 1, Botak Hill 2, columbarium project in Air Itam and Teluk Bahang quarry — were related.
He said this question arose because of the manner the projects were carried out.
“It is as if the developers and landowners behind the four projects have no respect for the Penang government.
“They just don’t seem to care. They have the ‘catch me if you can’ attitude. They go (to the sites) and clear it without approval, except for the columbarium project in Air Itam.
“We see similar fact evidence here. So Chant wants answers from the Penang government as to whether these four projects and those behind them have any connection. The state government should have the answers.
“More importantly, they should take stern action against the culprit. Why is the state government allowing this to happen?” he asked reporters here yesterday.
In law, similar fact evidence (or similar fact principle) establishes the conditions under which factual evidence of past misconduct of the accused can be admitted at trial for the purpose of inferring that the accused committed the misconduct at issue.
In the case of Botak Hill 1, motorists heading to the island via the Penang Bridge could clearly see the lurid, yellow gash scarring Bukit Relau back in 2013.
The landowners were fined RM10,000 two years later for illegally clearing Bukit Relau, which earned the moniker “Botak Hill”.
On Monday, the Penang Island City Council brought a group of newsmen to show how the top of a 350m-high hill had been illegally cleared for durian farming, with landowners ignoring three orders to stop work since March.
A total of 16ha had been cleared. It was on the same hill range as Botak Hill 1, but at a different site, earning it the moniker “Botak Hill 2”.
As for the Teluk Bahang quarry, Yan said it was encroaching into the nearby forest reserve.
It was reported in October last year that the illegal quarry was still mining thousands of tonnes of granite despite a stop-work order from the city council.
As for the columbarium project in Air Itam, Yan said it obtained planning permission on Jan 19, 2016, for a period of 24 months.
“However, when I went to the site last week, the project looked abandoned. It has been four years since the approval was granted.
“In all four projects, we can clearly see the hillslopes are bald and unprotected, posing a dangerous threat.”
He said a fine was no longer enough to deal with illegal land clearing, stressing that any punishment should have more bite.
“The state government recently announced heftier fines against developers who fail to comply with engineering requirements at construction sites statewide.
“We suggest that it come with a jail term to serve as a deterrent. Imagine putting someone behind bars for just one day, it will make a difference. What more if that someone is a Tan Sri or a Datuk.
“And their companies, directors and consultants should be blacklisted from any future projects.”
From this month, heftier fines await developers who fail to comply with engineering requirements at construction sites statewide following amendments to the Street, Drainage and Building Compounding of Offences ByLaws, gazetted on July 2.
Previously, only the Seberang Prai City Council had a provision to issue a RM250 compound.
Under the amendments, each offence under Section 121 (failure to abide by requirements set by local councils) carries a compound of RM1,500 to RM5,000.
Each offence under Section 70A (carrying out earthworks without written approval from the local council or failing to follow the approved plan) carries a compound of RM7,500 to RM25,000.
Each offence under Section 71 (failure to supervise the site resulting in slope or retention wall failure) carries a compound of RM75,000 to RM250,000.