GEORGE TOWN – A state legislator here has called on Penang to halt all forms of land reclamation projects until it can determine what is causing a series of coastline and inland erosion incidents here.
Kebun Bunga assemblyman Jason Ong Khan Lee said that he will appeal to the state government through his constituency office to put a blanket ban on all proposed reclamation projects and scale back the development at the planned Gurney Wharf area pending a statewide study.
The study is needed to determine if reclamation is the root cause behind instances of soil instability and erosion here, he said.
He agreed with the assertion by Tanjung Bungah Residents Association that their area on the northern side of Penang island near the coastline has been overwhelmed with a series of beach and land erosion cases.
“We cannot wait for a sinkhole to appear from nowhere. I have detected a few soil erosions where I live too. It is unsettling,” Ong told The Vibes.
In view of climate change and what the Covid-19 pandemic has done to the global economy, Ong said that Penang needs to reset its development plans, with better emphasis on environmental protection rather than simply “mitigating the consequences.”
Among notable beach erosions reportedly took place at the famed Batu Ferringhi tourism belt, Batu Maung, and near Pulau Betong in Balik Pulau.
Gurney Wharf, a public park, is slated to be created within the 53ha man-made island off the Gurney Drive foreshore.
This is over and above the concession rights to reclaim 308ha for Seri Tanjung Pinang Phase 2.
Ong said the threat of Covid-19 pandemic and climate change should change the state’s priorities, with emphasis on being cognisant of consequences and uncertainties rather than sticking to status quo development policies.
He prefers moderation in developing a cost-effective and low-carbon public transport system by convincing people to utilise such means to commute rather than moving in private vehicles.
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Meanwhile, Tanjung Bungah Residents Association president Zulfikar Ali Shri Abdul Aziz said that the pandemic has caused more people to fall into the B40 income category. He said that this means they would definitely not be able to purchase high-end homes.
Therefore, development models should be tailored to the B40 category and meet current market demand rather than continue to try making high profits by only focusing on luxurious properties, he said.
It is high time that the Penang government acknowledges the needs of the state’s main population base instead of pandering to developers who build high-end properties, which eventually meet neither the current local market demand nor public expectations, he added.
The Vibes recently reported Zulfikar as calling for a fresh hydrology study in Penang.
He said that while the reclamation work continues, the island continues to experience a series of inland and coastal erosion, including from Balik Pulau to Batu Maung.
The famed Batu Ferringhi beachfront is now also eroded in some stretches, with the worst being at sites fronting some popular hotels there.
“Like it or not, whether we dispute it or don’t, there is much destruction happening to our coastline. There is a major geographical change in the topography of the island,” he said. – The Vibes, February 9, 2022
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