Its adviser, Yan Lee, said to the layman, there had been no improvement on the hill as the bald patch could still be seen from the mainland.
“Are they hoping that as time goes by, the people will forget about the issue and no more questions will be asked on it?” questioned Yan Lee when contacted by Bernama.
In January, the council and the mitigation work project manager Khoo Koon Tai, who is also a geotechnical engineer by profession, said the mitigation work was 60% completed and by June, it would be completed.
Khoo had also said that to green the area, they would plant grass, conduct hydro seeding for effective growth and plant trees for the higher part of the hill.
However, until today the public is still in the dark about the progress of the mitigation work on Botak Hill.
Yan said the council should have gone to the place and carried out the necessary remedial work instead of just letting the developer proceed with its mitigation plan.
He also questioned on the council remaining silent on the matter as the fine had been paid for illegally clearing the hill.
“Are there any projects on Bukit Botak waiting to get the planning approval?”
Early this year, State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee Chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the state government did not rule out Botak Hill for future development.
Yan noted that the illegal land clearing of Bukit Botak had given a negative public perception that the council’s law enforcement was weak in protecting hills.
He cited several other hills that had been illegally cleared, such as Bukit Laksamana, Teluk Bahang, Teluk Bahang Shaolin Temple land and Bukit Kukus, Paya Terubong.
The state government recently announced that there would be a special team to oversee the hills and would use drones and install cameras to protect them from being cleared illegally.
“Even with a special group to monitor the hills, using drones and cameras, and also with enforcement from the land office and council office, sadly, illegal land clearing is still happening.
“The developers and land clearers obviously have no respect for the state government as they know they will only be slapped with a minimal fine and will get away with it (illegal land clearing),” said Yan.
– BERNAMA