Thursday October 20, 2011

Penang govt rapped

By WINNIE YEOH 
winnie@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government has come under fire for failing to give priority to core issues like heritage conservation and environment protection to safeguard the people's quality of life.

The newly-formed Penang Citizens' Awareness Chant Group listed 18 projects of "utmost urgency" such as demolition of buildings and illegal renovations within the George Town Unesco World Heritage site, swiflet farming in the inner city and the Penang Hill development.

Group member Prof Dr Jimmy Lim said they wanted "sustainable and responsible" development where the public was involved in the consultation process.

"At the speed that development is taking place on the island, it is as if Penang is being raped," he said in an interview.

Under threat: The piece of land at Pykett Avenue where a five-block high-rise apartment is about to be developed and (inset) Dr Lim who calls the move 'disturbing'.

The group consists of private citizens and representatives from non-governmental organisations like the Penang Heritage Trust, Pykett Westland Khaw Sim Bee Residents Group and Tanjung Bungah Residents Association. The others are the Consumers Association of Penang, Savoy Gardens Resi-dents Group, and Penang Forum and Green Voters as well as Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam (Peka),

Dr Lim, an architect, said Penangites deserved to know the development planned for Penang Hill including the Crag Hotel, the saga of the "Kancil car park" and the canopy walk.

"Overdevelopment at the Pykett Avenue area is disturbing," he said, referring to a proposed five-block high rise apartment for the area.

He said environmental impact and social and cultural impact assessment reports should be prepared and traffic issues looked into before the project could be approved.

"The government needs to set a benchmark for all development in Penang to ensure sustainability in each area," he added.

Another group member Tan Yeow Wooi, a conservation consultant, said Penang's heritage was not just about old buildings but also its other assets.

"The keh hoay (inheritance in Hokkien) of Penang, be it cultural, environmental or heritage, has to be fiercely guarded. Not everything has to be developed," he added.