Penang Gerakan Youth acting chief Jason Loo said any increase in density would only worsen traffic congestion in the state.

“Imagine having to spend 10 minutes just to turn into another road or 30 minutes to pass three traffic lights in your own neighbourhood.

“Will anyone be willing to pay some RM700,000 for a condo unit and go through that kind of environment? People should be comfortable where they live,” he told a press conference at the Penang Gerakan headquarters this morning.

Loo said the party’s view on the issue was based on a survey involving about 140 random Penangites, who were asked about their thoughts on the increase in density.

More than half shared their concerns about traffic congestion and the lack of public infrastructure that affected the quality of their lives.

Loo said Penang would soon be a place for traffic jams, landslides and flash floods.

“The chief minister recently said Penang was the place for retirement, but some respondents say it was a place for traffic jams,” he said.

Loo also warned that more developments, which badly affected drainage systems, could also contribute to landslides and flash floods.

Loo said he was aware of the state government’s reasoning for the latest increase in density, which was announced in October.

“It was reported that some developers had found it hard to sell expensive units at RM900,000, so the increase in density will allow them to reduce the sizes of units and the prices.

“But the question is whether the price buyers pay will still be worth it?

“And do we really need the increased density? Is our population like Hong Kong’s?”

Loo also said that before taking over the Penang administration in 2008, the DAP had previously objected against high density projects, such as the now cancelled Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) development proposed at the Penang Turf Club.

“But today, they seem to favour high density projects. I have heard some condo projects are exceeding 50 floors,” he said.

While speaking to the media, Loo also tried to show the impact of the increased density from 30 units per acre, as per the Penang Structure Plan gazetted in 2007, to 87 units and now at 128 units using small coloured blocks and containers.

He said if one unit was occupied by an average family of four with two cars, there would be 120 people with 60 cars living on an acre with a density of 30 units.

For 87 units per acre density, there would be 348 people and 174 cars, while with a density of 128 units, there would be 512 people and 256 cars, he said.

Loo said when the government raised the density to 87 units, it was reportedly to allow more affordable homes to be built.

However, he claimed that some developers were using the guideline to build luxury condo units.

Loo also criticised the state for failing to include the revised density guideline in the Penang Structure Plan 2020 that was recently presented for public viewing to collect feedback.

“Many people are saying that some important points are not mentioned in the plan. The revised density is one of them. I think that is irresponsible,” he said.

Loo also pointed out that the Penang Local Plan, which guided development, had not been gazetted since it was due in 2008, the same year the state government changed.

“Many have suspected that the delay is to allow guidelines, such as density, to be changed without breaching any development rule,” he said.

Recently, it was reported that the Penang government had raised the development density from 87 units per acre to 128 units to help lower the prices of homes and ease the economic impact on developers.

State Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the logic behind the new guideline was to allow developers to build more units in smaller sizes and lower the price.

The new density guideline dictates that units must not be smaller than 900sq ft, and priced not less than RM400,000, so developers building in this higher density do not compete with developers building 100% affordable homes, which come with the RM400,000 ceiling price.

Under the new guideline, the existing requirements for developers to also provide affordable, low-cost and low-medium-cost homes remain unchanged.

Jagdeep reportedly said this arrangement would see the state government get more affordable units across the board, making it a win-win situation for all.