Going bald again over hillslope project

Controversial issue: Teh explaining the project’s planning permission to reporters at his service centre in Tanjung Bungah, Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: A DAP assemblyman has taken the state government to task again for approving a 51-storey high-rise project on a hillslope near the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

Tanjung Bungah representative Teh Yee Cheu, who shaved his head bald in protest, claimed that parties responsible for approving the project were taking advantage of the Penang Structure Plan 2007 which was currently pending review by the state authorities.

“Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976, the plan must be reviewed every five years.

“There is an ongoing dispute whether Tanjung Bungah is located in the Primary Development Corridor or Secondary Development Corridor of the Penang Structure Plan. 

“Because of this overlapping grey area, developers have this kind of room to push for high-rise and high density projects,” he told a press conference at his service centre in Jalan Osman Bin Abdul Rahman in Tanjung Bungah yesterday.

Teh also shaved his head in January to protest the lack of remedial work at the hilltop of Bukit Relau, which was illegally cleared between April 24 and May 8 last year.

He said the Penang Structure Plan should be finalised before the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) further approves any other high-rise or high-density projects in the constituency.

“What is the point of approving the projects and then asking the developer to reduce the height or number of units, or amend the plan?” he asked.

Teh was responding to news report last week that the MBPP would hold discussions with the developer of the project to reduce the number of levels of the building due to concerns voiced by residents in the area. 

He also believed that there were currently four other applications of high-rise projects in Tanjung Bungah.

Tanjung Bungah Residents Asso-ciation’s former president Datuk Dr Leong Yueh Kwong said there was an urgent need for a review of the development control guideline.

“The regulation development control guidelines have not been reviewed for more than 30 years. 

“If you don’t have that, there will be all kinds of high-rise and high density developments without the proper infrastructure in the area, affecting privacy, parking, infrastructure, utilities and so forth,” he said. - The Star