BALIK PULAU – Datuk Muhammed Bakhtiar Wan Chik has joined a chorus of local leaders who are against the proposed construction of six blocks of foreign workers quarters at Teluk Kumbar.
Should the project be approved, the PKR MP said it could ruin the quality of life for the residents here.
“We are concerned that foreigners will disrupt the social harmony which the Balik Pulau residents enjoy now.
“Also, the current residents are already living in a high-density neighbourhood, the workers’ quarters would cause the population to rise between 30,000 and 50,000 and it would strain the social amenities, while causing increased traffic congestion,” he said in a statement today.
The priority now for Penang, he said, is to expand the Gertak Sanggul roads here because it is already congested on most days.
Bakhtiar also urged state authorities to hold discussions with the residents and provide them with the results from studies such as the Social Impact Assessments, Traffic Assessments, and the Environment Impact Assessment.
“The building of the quarters is not a form of development which the residents craved for. It is disruptive rather than accommodative,” he added.
Besides Bakhtiar, the project is also opposed by Bayan Lepas assemblyman Azrul Mahathir Aziz and several civil society members.
Azrul had suggested that the Penang Development Corporation swap the land in Teluk Kumbar with that in Batu Kawan so that the migrant workers’ lodgings can be moved to Batu Kawan – closer to the industrial estate there.
In May, backbenchers in the Penang assembly have questioned the manner in which hostels for migrant workers are being planned, saying that they are too close to residential areas inhabited by locals and could bring about social issues in the affected neighbourhoods.
Zolkifli Md Lazim (Teluk Bahang-PAS) said that although there are many commendable development projects, locals are complaining that the migrants’ hostels, especially in Teluk Kumbar and other places, are located in close proximity to existing residential areas. – The Vibes, August 16, 2022
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