Citizen Awareness Chant Group (Chant) legal adviser Yan Lee said glamping is best suited for Penang Hill, owing to its tranquil and green setting, and will not adversely affect the sensitive environment there.

Glamping is a form of camping involving accommodation and facilities which are more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping. It usually comes with toilets and other modern world trappings.

Lee said glamping was the best way to court “high value” tourists since the Penang authorities want to get more tourists up Penang Hill.

“It must be understood that Asian tourists are typically not appreciative of eco-resorts where people can enjoy the serenity of nature.

“While we have been harping about courting high-end tourists, like those visiting Bali, glamping will be the best way to go.

“Even in Bali, such glamping resorts in the middle of a padi field fetch a RM2,000 a night price tag for a chalet.

“We cannot afford to have Genting Highlands-type of hotels on our hills,” he told FMT.

Lee later showed an example of a glamping site at Cowaramup, Western Australia, where 10 large camps were set up in the midst of an olive grove and a lake.

He said there are cheap glamping concepts and more luxurious ones to cater to different travellers.

“Building large-scale hotels would only ruin the hills. Glamping is the best option and is certainly more tasteful.”

Preliminary stage

Recently, the state government said it would call for tenders to build two hotels on the colonial-era hill resort. This has since elicited negative response from non-governmental organisations, which said it would only destroy the hill resort.

It was reported that the state government plans to build hotels behind the Convalescent Bungalow (about 200 rooms) and at Coolie Lines (about 100 rooms).

Lee said for starters, the Penang government should call for a design competition among architects to design the glamping site on the Convalescent and Coolie Lines.

He said such competitions were held in countries such as the United States and Australia and the top five entries would be shortlisted and put up for public display.

“Members of the public can then get to vote for what they want on Penang Hill. This kind of interaction is in the spirit of Malaysia Baru.”

The Penang Hill Corporation (PHC), a state government-linked company tasked with managing the entire hill township, said the hotel projects remained at a “preliminary stage”.

The PHC had said it was looking into refurbishing and repurposing existing buildings, such as the disused workers’ quarters at Coolie Line.

Another property considered for refurbishment is the Convalescent Bungalow, a property built in 1803 for British officers to recover from illnesses, primarily at a time when there was a malaria outbreak.

As for the reported 200-room project, PHC said it was a “previous concept proposal”.

It said a new request for proposal (RFP) would be called soon and interested parties could submit their ideas.

In a related development, a petition to “Save Penang Hill” and “No to hotels on the hill” addressed to Chow by Penang Forum on change.org has received more than 28,000 signatures, since it was started two weeks ago.

The petition includes seven points on why a hotel project should not take off, with emphasis on the degradation of the environment there.

Historical factor

Presently, there is only one hotel on Penang Hill, the 12-room Bellevue Hotel.

In 1895, the Crag Hotel was established by the Sarkies Brothers of the Eastern & Oriental Hotel fame. It fell into disuse after the Second World War and was later leased to the Uplands School.

The school moved out in the late 1970s. The Crag Hotel was refurbished two years ago and is still being used as the filming spot for top-rated UK drama “Indian Summers”.

The producers of the show have rented the hotel until 2020 for the show, together with the Woodside Bungalow nearby.

Besides hotels, bungalows from the colonial era dot the hill.

The “Ban Hin Lee”, “Lomonds”, “Richmond”, and “Edgecumbe”, in particular, have been given special protection status via a Special Area Plan (SAP) that was gazetted on Aug 1, 2017.

The Penang Hill SAP covers 468.38ha but only 9ha of the hilltop have been designated for “low-density boutique hotels and villas”.

The plan also specifies that only an estimated 50 hotel rooms of the luxury type can be built on the hilltop of Flagstaff Hill.

The SAP recognises 36 heritage buildings on the hill. They can be used as residences, restaurants, hotels, hostels or homestays.

Meanwhile, at the Coolie Line valley, only three-storey buildings are allowed to be built.

Penang Hill is mostly covered by pristine rainforest (69%) covering 323.3ha, with the water catchment areas taking up 210ha.

The Penang Hill Range consists of several hills — Strawberry Hill, Halliburton’s Hill, Flagstaff Hill, Government Hill, Tiger Hill and Western Hill.

The highest point is at Western Hill, 833m above sea level. But Flagstaff Hill (Bukit Bendera) is the most developed peak.

The top of the hill is a popular tourist destination, accessible via the Penang Hill Railway from its base station at Air Itam.

Recently, the Penang government announced a project to list Penang Hill as a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, owing to its unique flora and fauna.