State opposition leader Jahara Hamid (Umno-Telok Ayer Tawar) said the Penang state government’s plans to develop parts of Penang Hill was an outrage as DAP supremo and former Penang assemblyman Lim Kit Siang had previously said the hills should be left untouched.

Jahara said the late Penang Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu had faced fierce opposition to a proposed development of the hill by Kit Siang.

“We cannot escape from the fact that today, Kit Siang’s son, the chief minister, has proposed to develop Penang Hill.

“Previously, Kit Siang fiercely opposed it and Chong Eu’s plans had to be scrapped. Is it not ironic?” Jahara told the assembly during the 2017 state budget debate.

Earlier this month, non-governmental organisation Citizen Awareness Chant Group claimed that a 300-room hotel would be built on Penang Hill. It feared such a huge project might destroy the greenery and sanctity of the hills.

While the Penang government has not responded to the claim, a special area plan is already in force to curtail development in most areas of the hill.

The state also plans to mark the hill as a Unesco Biosphere Reserve in the next few years with the help of academics from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang Hill Corporation, Habitat Penang Hill, the Penang Forestry Department and the Wildlife and Parks Department.

Meanwhile, Jahara added that the sheer size of the development plans for Penang Hill was worrisome.

She said the hills had recorded nearly two million visitors of late and if the number of visitors to the hill was to increase, it might affect its biodiversity.

“If they are planning to convert existing bungalows to hotels, that is fine. But a 300-room hotel, that is not good at all for the environment.

“The biodiversity of the hill may be severely impacted,” Jahara said.