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Penang Forum discusses its Penang Hills Watch Report 2016 with state government

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The Penang Hills Watch (PHW) initiative of Penang Forum (PF) has submitted its maiden report on hill-clearing cases in Penang to the state government.

The report, submitted on 2 January 2017, covers cases and complaints that PHW has tracked over the past few months.

Last week, Penang Forum, State Executive Councillor for Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment YB Chow Kon Yeow and MBPP Director of Engineering Ir Addnan Mohd Razali discussed details of these cases during a closed-door meeting.

Penang Forum representative Rexy Prakash Chacko said that there are currently 126 documented reports on the PHW page out of which 86 were from the state government’s own records and 40 from the public. Of these, 29 public reports were submitted to the state government as others had been verified independently by the state government.

While the scope of PHW includes the whole of Penang state, all the reports received were from the island and centred on the middle belt of the island’s hills. The report zoned the island into three separate regions. Cases from each region detail the location, its geo tag and a photo of the clearing activity to help in investigations. Cases of hill clearing activity documented include both those for agricultural purposes and hill-slope development.

In its reply to the PHW report, the Penang state government clarified that out of the 29 cases documented by PHW, 14 were legally permitted land works, nine were illegal clearing activities, one was a case of natural slope failure and a further five are under investigation with other relevant departments. The nine cases of illegal clearing have been issued stop work orders or are being followed up by court action.

The cases are as shown in the table below:

Cases

Number

State government action

Approved legal

14

Monitoring

Illegal

9

Stop work order/Court action

Natural slope failure

1

Notice sent

Under investigation

5

Pending

Total

29

Rexy commended the Penang state government’s concern and transparency in responding to the PHW report. He added that the nine cases of illegal clearing which were documented have to be followed closely and if necessary, mitigation action taken to rehabilitate these areas. As for the cases which are legally permitted, it would be good that they adhere strictly to relevant state laws with regard to land work and drainage.

Penang Forum sincerely hopes that in line with the state’s initiative for a “Cleaner and Greener Penang”, the submission of this report and subsequent PHW reports will help the state government track hill-clearing in Penang and enable close cooperation between the state government and civil society in tackling one of Penang’s most troubling issues.

About Penang Hills Watch

Launched in October 2016, Penang Hills Watch (PHW) is a citizens-oriented initiative to provide an information platform for keeping watch on activities affecting the hills of Penang.

The public can view and download the submitted PHW report as well as the response from the state government, at the Penang Hills Watch Facebook page (@PenangHillsWatch) or the Penang Forum website and see them interactively on a map at the Penang Hills Watch page.

Reports of hill-clearing can be submitted via WhatsApp to the PHW hotline at +6011-51274277, via email (pghillswatch@gmail.com) or through its Facebook page (@PenangHillsWatch).

Relevant documents and information

1. Penang Hills Watch Report 2016

2. The state government’s summary of the 29 cases highlighted by PHW:

RUMUSAN LAPORAN TINDAKAN BERKAITAN ADUAN DARI PENANG HILLS WATCH 2016

BIL.

KES ADUAN

BILANGAN

TINDAKAN MBPP

1.

KERJA TANAH ADA KELULUSAN

14

KERJA TANAH DALAM PEMANTAUAN

2.

KERJA TANAH TANPA KELULUSAN MBPP

9

NOTIS BERHENTI KERJA/ TINDAKAN UNDANG-UNDANG

3.

HAKISAN CERUN (SLOPE FAILURE) & TANAH RUNTUH

1

NOTIS KACAUGANGGU/MITIGASI

4.

KERJA TANAH YANG DIJALANKAN DI ATAS TANAH MILIK KERAJAAN

3

SURAT PEMBERITAHUAN/ RUJUK JABATAN BERKAITAN- JKR/DO/PTG

5.

KERJA TANAH – PROJEK MBPP

1

KERJA TANAH DALAM PEMANTAUAN/TINDAKAN MBPP

6.

KERJA-KERJA KUARI

1

BIDANGKUASA PTG

JUMLAH ADUAN

29

3. The state government’s detailed response to the 29 cases

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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