Teh Yee Cheu, the state assembly member for the area, was quoted as saying that earthworks for a 50-storey tower in Lorong Lembah Permai began four months ago. Work had also begun on road works in Jalan Solok Tanjung Bungah two months ago.
“Other than myself, the Tanjung Bunga residents’ association also objected to the projects 10 years ago,” he said, according to NST Online. “Following the brouhaha, things went quiet for a while. It looks like the projects are in full swing. We hope the authorities will minimise the impact of the construction on the surrounding areas.”
Two hill slopes are being stripped for the projects and bald patches were visible from a distance, the report said.
Teh is noted for his concerns for the environment and made headlines in November when he voted in favour of an opposition-sponsored motion in the Penang state assembly calling for a halt to massive land reclamations projects off the south coast.
On a visit to the affected sites in Tanjung Bungah on Friday, he said there were concerns about the steepness of the slopes, although the projects were being carried out below the elevation limit of 250ft (76 metres).
Teh pointed out that residents of Chee Seng Garden nearby were affected by mud floods on Sept 6, 2008, after the nearby hills were stripped by two developers?
“It was the first time the neighbourhood was flooded in four decades. Can we be sure that mud water from the construction site will not flow downhill and flood the houses at the bottom? The bald patch at the hill is visible,” he was quoted as saying.
Teh lamented that there were no fewer than 50 high-rise buildings between Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringhi, with up to 10 more projects pending approval.
“I dread to think of what will happen in the event of a downpour, which can lead to a landslide,” he said according to the report.
Tanjung Bungah residents’ association chairman Renji Sathiah said last week that Tanjung Bungah and neighbouring communities had seen an acceleration in the deterioration of the environment in the past year.
“The main cause of this is that the state government favours developers over the concerns of those whose quality of life is affected by the degradation of the environment,” he said in the statement for the associations annual meeting.
Renji said development, illegal constructions, massive land reclamations without environmental impact assessments and the controversial Penang Traffic Master Plan were key issues for the people of Tanjung Bungah and Penang.
He called for solidarity among Penang residents to “counter these threats to the environment and to our quality of life”.
“Regrettably, here in our neighbourhood and elsewhere in Penang, people seem to react only when faced with a problem on their doorstep. This has to change if we are to show solidarity on matters impacting the community,” the statement said.
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