Imagine receiving a blank form asking for your views on development plans for your neighbourhood – without being shown what those plans actually are. This is the reality for residents trying to participate in Penang’s state and local planning process.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow delivered a briefing on the review study for the 2040 Penang structure plan at the Bukit Tambun state constituency on 20 December 2024.
He stated that “active community participation is crucial, as [the structure plan] is not merely a technical planning document but a shared roadmap that will shape how Penangite live, work, travel and develop over the next 15 years”.
He invited local residents and stakeholders to share their views and feedback to ensure that the structure plan is formulated “in a comprehensive, balanced and people-centric manner”.
Yes, public participation is very important in development planning as it affects the public. This was also stressed by the Federal Court in the Sunway City (Penang) Sdn Bhd Sungai Ara hill case (Civil Appeal No. 01(f)-24-12/2021 (P)).
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The purpose of the stipulated participation under Section 12(A) is of the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) is to show the public what the authorities themselves are proposing to put in the local plan. This would give the public, including stakeholders and affected people, an opportunity to raise issues, concerns, priorities and ideas before the plan is drafted. It is supposed to be a consultative and formative process, not reactive.
But Chow is obviously unaware of the people-‘un-centric’ methodology used by both the Town and Country Planning Department and the Penang Island City Council. Their ‘public participation’ exercises fall far short of the requirements of the TCPA. This makes the whole process department-centric rather than people-centric.
Sadly, the ‘public participation’ exercises also fall far short of the chief minister’s call. They appear to be planned and timed to allow minimum public participation. This gives just a semblance of fulfilling the requirements (memenuhi syarat), to placate the public at best.
This does not reflect good faith as the process does not give real and reasonable opportunities to participate. It does not provide information that the public requires in simple, understandable language and visuals about any changes proposed in their communities.
Instead, blank sheets of paper titled “Borang Bantahan Awam” (public objection forms) are handed out. The authorities expect ordinary residents to give their views and suggestions without the benefit of actually seeing, in a meaningful way, the proposals from the departments concerned.
Apart from the 2040 structure plan, the concern is that the Penang Island City Council is not showing what it wants to put in its 2035 local plan. The information given to the public is in general terms. The Town and Country Planning Act (Section 12A(a)) requires the local authority to give publicity to “objectives”. It also requires publicity for “matters that the local planning authority proposes to include in the plan”.
All the local plan publicity exercises held under Section 12A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 have not complied with the requirement of this section. The MBPP must give publicity to “matters that the local planning authority proposes to include in the plan”.
This means that the council cannot include in the draft local plan any of its own proposals that were not put before the public during this publicity exercise.
The council must produce a blueprint (including visual illustrations) showing all that it proposes to include in the local plan for the public to visualise its proposals and give their feedback.
Preparing the blueprints based on studies by the Town and Country Planning Department is the work of town planners, not of the public.
The early publicity (“publisiti awal”) should be be sufficiently clear for:
- the public to understand what is proposed by the city council
- affected people to identify whether and how they are affected
- affected people and others to formulate informed objections or representations
The public’s responsibility is to look at the proposals in the blueprints and give comments and suggestions to include or exclude from the blueprint what they feel is appropriate or inappropriate for their communities.
The draft local plan is then prepared. The city council is not supposed to include anything in the draft that was not shown to the public in the blueprints for their comments.
However, what happens is that after collecting the objection forms, the council puts in its own proposals to produce the draft local plan. This is clearly a violation of Section 12A, yet it goes on and on.
For instance, I have been trying to find out what the council proposes to put in the Batu Maung and Permatang Damar Laut areas, where I live. I could not find any specific proposals from the council.
Would it then be right if in the final, gazetted plan, there are the council’s own proposals (like rezoning) which were not shown to the public during the “publisiti awal” (early publicity) exercise? This will not be known until the final, gazetted plan is published.
Searching for more information, I came across the MBPP’s “Program Publisiti” (publicity programme) notice dated 8 November 2022. It stated: “Semakan/permohonan PETA CADANGAN (zon gunatanah) Draf Rancangan Tempatan Pulau Pinang (Pulau), 2030 mengikut lot dengan kadar harga RM30.00/Lot/Zon”. (Inspection/application for PROPOSED MAP (land use zone) Draft Local Plan Penang Island, 2030 by lot at the rate of RM30.00/Lot/Zone.)
Why does the council want the public to buy the proposed map to find out the council’s zoning proposal plans for any area? This seems very odd, especially just so the public can give feedback on the proposals.
The timing and accessibility of these exercises further undermine meaningful participation.
For example, the public participation exercise for the 2035 Penang Island local plan was held from 23 January to 29 February 2024. Thaipusam was on 25 January and Chinese New Year on 10 and 11 February. Note that both these major festivals fell during the public participation exercise.
It is hard to imagine that this could have been an oversight rather than a deliberate arrangement. Didn’t anyone look at the calendar before choosing the public participation dates?
‘Public participation’ exercises, at three or four static places, are open only during normal working hours when people are at work. Again, this appears to be a deliberate move to minimise public participation. Are people expected to take leave from work to go to the ‘public display’ booths?
Good faith is not seen in the way public participation exercises are carried out as they curtail public participation instead of encouraging it. It is almost as if the publicity exercises are reluctantly held just to fulfil standard operating procedures.
Exhibitions of the MBPP’s proposals for each and every area should be taken to all areas that are included in the proposals. This means all towns and kampongs affected by the planning. This is not done. Why? How are people, for example in Pantai Acheh, to know what plans the council has for their area?
The Section 12A early publicity conducted for the Penang Island Local Plan 2035 was procedurally undertaken but substantively deficient. By failing to meaningfully disclose the matters proposed to be included in the local plan, the city council deprives the public of the opportunity for informed participation at a formative stage, frustrating the statutory purpose of Section 12A.
The exercise amounted to consultation in form rather than substance and cannot be cured by subsequent publicity under Section 13.
Section 13 objections are confined to the draft as published, and objectors are blamed for not raising issues earlier. Can the public be faulted for not objecting (at the Section 12A early publicity stage) to what was never disclosed to them?
Chief Minister Chow must walk the talk. He must ensure that all the procedures and processes for preparing the structure plan and the local plan are adhered to. Officials must not interpret the law against the spirit of the law, to the advantage of the departments concerned and the disadvantage of the public.
The procedural fairness that is lacking in the planning and ‘public consultations’ must be rectified.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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