Citizen Awareness Chant Group (CHANT) legal adviser Yan Lee said according to his research, there were plenty of areas suitable for campsites, including empty grounds next to the existing Habitat park and its surroundings.

He also spoke of genuine concerns over the state’s recent announcement that it was planning to build hotels at two different sites, with some asking if the centuries-old hilltop town could take such development.

He called on Penang Hill Corporation (PHC), which manages the site, to identify locations suitable for camping and encourage more people to embark on such activities in line with Penang’s goal to be a more family-focused state by 2030.

“Instead of building hotels outright, we should promote camping, especially among families,” he said in a press conference here.

He said according to an email from PHC to CHANT last week, the managers of the hilltop town had banned camping over fears of littering, security issues and danger to the environment.

The email said PHC had received numerous complaints about unauthorised camping activities at public areas such as the children’s playground, common grounds, viewing decks and even by roadsides.

PHC also claimed there were many campers who threw rubbish and food waste indiscriminately. It said campers also posed “security risks” to local residents as they were “unknown people” and might trespass into residents’ properties.

Lee acknowledged these concerns as valid but said the only solution was to find suitable locations where people could camp under the largely canopied forests on the hilltop.

The Penang government recently said it would call for tenders to build two hotels at the colonial-era hill resort. The state government reportedly plans to build large hotels behind the Convalescent Bungalow (about 200 rooms) and at Coolie Lines (about 100 rooms).

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told the state assembly the planned hotels were not skyscrapers, merely “tasteful developments” which would not ruin the image of the hill.