GEORGE TOWN – Caught between a rock and a hard place is perhaps an appropriate analogy for the Bayan Lepas Waterfall, which has been neglected and polluted following the rapid development taking place around it.
The condition of the once-pristine site, located near the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, the northern region’s industrial hub famed for hosting multinational corporations, is emblematic of the fate that awaits nature amid the race for development.
The waterfall is also located less than 10km from Penang International Airport.
It is popularly known among locals as Pak Lah Waterfall, as it used to be former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s favourite recreational spot in his childhood days.
However, it is now abandoned and lacks maintenance, apart from being used as a garbage dump by irresponsible residents.
According to locals, the waterfall was clear during Abdullah’s time in office about 15 years ago, and many people visited the site for picnics.
Mohamad Roslan Abu Bakar, 60, who has lived a short walk away from the waterfall for the past 40 years, said no one is trying to preserve the area, even though the number of waterfalls in the state is declining.
“It is sad to see this waterfall in its current state, as no one cares,” he said during a survey of the site by The Vibes.
“In the past, this place was very beautiful. Many people came for picnics, especially those with families.”
Surrounded by development
Roslan said the waterfall’s condition changed drastically after the surrounding land was privatised. The water’s quality went down after a development project took place next to its source.
“I wonder how such a development was approved, given its location next to a sensitive water catchment (area).”
Checks by The Vibes found several residences, such as condominiums and apartments, built on both sides of the waterfall, squeezing in the recreational area.
It is understood that the Penang Island City Council and Drainage and Irrigation Department promised to beautify and monitor the site following a landslide there in 2013.
However, the two agencies do not seem to have kept up their efforts, with the area now littered with rubbish and the facilities there in a derelict state.
Not only has the waterfall turned into a garbage dump, but locals are also worried that the area is turning into a den for drug addicts due to its remote location.
Nor Azlina Kassim, 40, said residents no longer venture there because they are worried about their safety.
“My son once told me that he saw cans of glue at the top of the waterfall. I forbade him from going there, as I am worried about his safety.
“I really hope other local authorities can do something to prevent untoward incidents from happening in this neighbourhood.”
No longer suitable for tourism
Bayan Lepas assemblyman Azrul Mahathir Aziz said his party, Amanah, together with the Southwest Land and District Office, will arrange a visit to the Bayan Lepas Waterfall in the near future.
He expressed concern that the pollution there will contaminate the water used to irrigate nearby plantations.
In fact, he said, the district office has been carrying out work to deepen the river twice a year and clean the surrounding reserve area three times annually starting 2020.
“But personally, I think the place is not suitable for tourism anymore because its environment – left, right, top and bottom – has been taken over by development.” – The Vibes, April 17, 2021
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