Teluk Bahang assemblyman Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah said floods were not new in his constituency but for the first time, mud floods had hit the area.

He said he had enlisted a drone camera operator to capture images of some of the hills in his constituency and to his shock, found many parts had been cleared.

He said one was a hill slope near Kampung Sungai Rusa in Balik Pulau, which had been extensively cleared.

“We do not know if this is legal or illegally done. Could this be the cause of mud floods in my area?

“That is why I have asked for the city council officers to monitor my constituency since 60% of it comprises hills and sensitive water catchment areas.

“Monitoring hills is not something where you come and do an inspection once in three months. It should be a routine weekly job, they should come more often,” Shah Headan said in a press conference today.

Shah Headan said some landowners in rural places like Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang were not aware of the dangers of clearing hill slopes. He said the onus was on the city council to educate them.

‘I wanted to plant durians and build houses’

Earlier, Shah Headan and Penang Gerakan Youth chief Jason Loo took reporters on a tour to the cleared hill site at Jalan Sungai Rusa, Balik Pulau.

A row of four cluster-type single storey houses was spotted at the foot of the hill together with three new kampung-style houses on stilts.

The landowner, Mohamad Nazri Abd Latiff, 38, who lived in one of the four houses came out to greet Shah Headan and the group of reporters.

Nazri explained that the hill was not cleared illegally and that he had merely removed large boulders and stones lodged on the 25m hill slope.

In Penang, any development on hill slopes above 75m is prohibited.

He said he had removed the boulders to build his own kampung-style house and was told by the city council to complete slope maintenance works before applying for a planning permission to build on the slope.

Nazri said the council had asked him to plant covering grass, build cascading concrete drains and open up mud drains to let water flow down, minimising the risk of a landslide.

“I have planted grass and taken other anti-erosion measures to prevent landslides.

“I have even placed rocks on these mud drains so that there will be less siltation on the drains and rivers.

“All this work… I have consulted the city council and I have abided with all their requirements,” Nazri told Shah Headan.

Summons issued for building without permit

Nazri said he owned a total of 2.4ha of land at the site, including a plot located at the 45m height which was zoned as agricultural land. The rest is categorised as first-grade land.

Owners of first-grade land are free to do what they want with their land.

He said he had recently built an access road to the site to start a durian plantation.

“I need a small 50m road to transport items back and forth, so I cleared a small path.

“The council officers have come here many times. I have asked if I needed to apply for anything to clear the hillside for an access road. They said as long as no one complains, it is not a problem,” Nazri said.

Nazri said he was given a summons in 2012 by the city council for building a row of four cluster-style homes at the foot of the hill.

He said he had appealed against the case and it would likely be heard in the High Court next year.

Nazri said he bought the land more than five years ago to build houses for short-term rentals and chalet-type homestays.

FMT has contacted Penang Island City Council mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif for comment and is awaiting her reply.