Home Civil Society Voices 2017 Civil Society Voices Penang floods: Stop further hill and tree cutting and over development

Penang floods: Stop further hill and tree cutting and over development

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Sahabat Alam Malaysia and the Consumers’ Association of Penang are alarmed by the massive flash floods that hit Penang both on the island and the mainland following intense downpours throughout the early morning of Friday, 15 September.

Apart from many areas in Penang under water, we also received news of landslides and mudslides in several areas such as in Tanjung Bungah and Paya Terubong, where hill cutting is going on for more high-rise projects.

Clearly, despite previous incidences of floods and landslides in Penang following intense rains, we do not seem to have learned any lessons.

Heavy tropical storms are to be expected in Penang and in the country.

But what is most disconcerting however is that the state government, instead of taking preventive measures such as in protecting hill lands and planting more trees to prevent soil erosion and surface water run-off, is approving more hill-cutting and removal of trees along roads for all kinds of development projects.

All the flood mitigation measures will prove ineffective and inadequate if we do not address the root causes of flash-floods and landslides which stem from increased water run-off from removal of trees and hill-cutting.

The state government needs to halt this wrong kind of development and must genuinely be more environment friendly by taking measures to protect all hill lands, plant more trees and truly ensure sustainable development.

More extreme and intense rainfalls can be expected due to the impacts of climate change, not only in Malaysia but the world over, as exemplified by the massive recent floods in South Asia and even in the United States.

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Many countries are taking adaptation measures seriously in light of climate change impacts but Penang and the rest of Malaysia are very far away from having proper adaptation plans to cope with more extreme rainfalls which will happen more frequently.

It is high time to learn from our mistakes, take corrective measures urgently and have proper adaptation plans in place.

SM Mohamed Idris is president of Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Consumers Association of Penang.

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

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Yong Tan
16 Sep 2017 10.53pm

Yes

Teo Chuen Tick
16 Sep 2017 6.15am

SAM & CAP should have all the statistics in their hand.
Extreme weather conditions like what triggered the widespread flooding in Penang are hard to factor into flood mitigation projects.
I am no DAP apologist and I am very critical of the Penang state government’s handling of the Botak Hill controversy.
But the call “..to protect all hill lands, plant more trees and truly ensure sustainable development.” – is too sweeping. How much non hill lands are available still in Penang for viable development? Sea reclamation is already another hot potato for the state government.
I am a nature lover myself but I understand that for development to take place, something must give. Yes, it is sad and tragic we’ll lose more of our greenery and nature in the process but that’s the price we’ll have to pay.
Yes, the call to plant more trees and truly ensure sustainable development -I agree in totality and sincerely hope the Penang state government will follow,

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