Wake-up call: The floods that hit Penang in 2017 exposed its lack of flood mitigation and disaster preparedness.
GEORGE TOWN: The south-west monsoon season is expected to start sometime this month, prompting fears of flooding and falling trees here.
As dark clouds hang over Penang almost every morning now to herald the coming monsoon, talk of flooding in the state assembly sitting on Tuesday led to several lawmakers and the Speaker himself wanting to have a say.
“I am aware that some government agencies belittle the efforts of assemblymen who highlight flooding and other problems.
“As legislators who face the rakyat, they are carrying out their duties and I hope that the relevant agencies will take them seriously and not make fun of them,” said Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang during the day’s proceedings.
Lim Siew Khim (PH-Sungai Pinang) told the assembly how she and Ong Ah Teong (PH-Batu Lanchang) suffered verbal insults when visiting flood victims in Kampung Bukit Dumbar, where homes were flooded seven times, including a few days before the recent Chinese New Year.
This led to Dr Norlela Ariffin (PH-Penanti), Ong and Teh Lai Heng (PH-Komtar) to also stand up and voice their grouses.
Outside the hall, Ong said government officers handling flood problems tend to ignore the pleas of assemblymen.
“We are all in the same WhatsApp groups. When we highlight floods, they never respond,” he said.
Teh told the assembly that government officers don’t face the residents but the assemblymen bear all the insults from flood victims in their constituencies.
Dr Norlela said when she attended the monthly district meetings and called for strict enforcement to end the source of floodings such as deforestation, her pleas were often met with silence.
While the Sungai Pinang Flood Mitigation Plan – delayed for 20 years – has begun again with renewed federal funding, many are worried that the south-west monsoon will still bring back the floods this year.
Scientists Sheeba Nettukandy Chenoli and Chai Heng Lim, in a research paper published last November in the “Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics”, found that the onset of the mid-year monsoon will be on May 19 with a standard deviation of eight days.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said this was the season when rain coinciding with extra high tides fuelled by the super full moon could lead to severe flooding.
“Between May and June, strong winds stir up huge tidal waves that are not safe for small boats,” he said.
A freak storm on Sunday caused several trees to fall on Penang island, one of them in Tanjung Bungah falling on a passing car.
To keep falling trees in check, State Works Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said a special committee was ironing out a method to pass the care of public trees from the Public Works Department (JKR) to Penang Island City Council (MBPP).
“JKR specialises in building and caring for roads and bridges but MBPP has a full landscaping team that includes arborists.
“This team has the know-how to care for public trees and recognise diseased trees that must be felled before they become a hazard.
“We are finalising a method for MBPP’s landscapers to have island-wide jurisdiction of roadside trees and be granted access to federal grants for their maintenance,” he said.
GEORGE TOWN: Some 20 houses located on a slope in Hong Seng Estate in Mount Erskine were flooded due to blocked underground drainage.
“Not again!” was the reaction of factory worker S. Kalaiselvi, 42, who found herself neck-deep in water at her house at 2am yesterday after a three-hour downpour.
She waded through the water to higher ground with her parents, who are in their 60s.
“I have been living here for 26 years and only now am I seeing such floods,” said Kalaiselvi, who also had to move out when her house was hit by the massive floods on Nov 4 and 5 last year.
Her father Subramanian Perumal, 68, said he was still waiting for the relevant authorities to resolve the problem.
At the site, firemen had to install a water pump to draw out the rainwater, which flooded most of the units to waist level at one point.
It was the third time that the area was flooded since October last year.
Last Oct 30, blocked underground drainage caused floodings affecting six houses during an evening downpour, followed by massive floods during the Nov 4 and 5 storm.
On Sept 29 last year, seven houses in the estate were also affected by soil erosion.
Consultant engineer Datuk Lim Kok Khong had said the soil erosion was due to water seeping under the ground.
Kebun Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng, who has been barred from helping out with the registration of flood victims for the one-off RM700 aid given by the Penang government, was also there but offered no concrete solution to the floods in the area.
Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Soo Huey said nine houses had to be demolished to make way for repair works.
She said they had offered owners of the nine affected houses a low medium-cost unit each as compensation, but the residents insisted on staying put.
Earlier, Penang Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the latest floods were caused by the continuous downpour that began on Thursday evening.
“The rain also coincided with a 2.34mm high tide at 2.30am yesterday,” he said.
Chow said the short-term measures to deal with the floods were to dig and deepen the rivers, and carry out upgrading and cleaning works at riverbanks to ensure that there were no blockages.
In Bukit Mertajam, a low wall sealing off the entrance to a lorry driver’s house prevented it from being submerged in floodwaters all over again.
While the water on the road outside was up to knee level, Heng Kai Chin’s home remained relatively dry, thanks to the metre-high barrier of cement and bricks.
But Heng, 43, still skipped work yesterday to keep an eye on the flooding.
A state flood report said water had entered at least 100 homes in Bukit Mertajam.
PENANGITES woke up to a cloudy and rainy morning as continuous downpour lasting for hours inundated several parts of the state.
Wet day: Students wading through floodwaters at SMK Mak Mandin in
Butterworth, Penang. (Left) Motorists braving through the waters on the
flyover at Sungai Nibong, Bayan Lepas. — MUSTAFA AHMAD/The Star and
social mediapic
Use technology to learn more about them before casting your vote
Cheah taking a wefie with Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu
(behind Cheah) and (from left) Berapit assemblyman Lydia Ong, Speaker
Datuk Law Choo Kiang and state officials during a break at the Penang state
assembly in November.
KEBUN Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng of PKR is the man of the moment in the political scene in Penang.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng barred him from helping with the registration of flood victims for the RM700 aid in his constituency.
Lim, in his Facebook page, said in Chinese that he wouldn’t sit idly when elected representatives do not perform.
He stopped short of naming Cheah, except to say that he heard grouses from Hong Seng Estate residents about not seeing “their assemblyman” during the floods on Sept 15 as well as on Nov 4 and 5. We do not know if this is true.
In any case, Cheah got a letter from the State Secretariat relieving him of the registration duty. Lim and Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Soo Huey took over the task.
Cheah, showing his usual gentleman’s demeanour, declined to comment. But this is not the first time he has come under attack from the state administration.
It was learned that he was reprimanded for being unhappy with the passing of the Penang State Park (Botanic) Corporation Enactment 2017.
Penang Botanic Gardens is in his constituency and he feared the Enactment would affect people’s rights after the park was corporatised. It is said he was informed only a few days before the Bill was tabled.
In 2015, Cheah, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin, Ong Chin Wen (Bukit Tengah), Dr T. Jayabalan (Batu Uban) and Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubok) were dubbed the ‘PKR Five’ for abstaining in a vote against a Barisan Nasional motion on land reclamation in the state assembly.
Their relationship with Lim soured after that.
How do we define good elected representatives? Keep count of how many times they visit their constituencies?
And then there is the old question: Should we vote for the person or the party? There are many views on this, but as a journalist, I have an occupational advantage.
I have seen a few assemblymen turning up at gotong-royong, spend less than 30 minutes there for photo opportunities and leave. Yes, I know who you are and I am a voter too.
And then I had the chance to cover many state assembly meetings through the years.
This is where we expect constructive debates among the ‘Yang Berhormat’ on issues that affect us. But on a few occasions, there were no fruitful debates or exchange of ideas.
National issues, which cannot be resolved in the state assembly, dominate the proceedings at times. Why? What were our assemblymen hoping to achieve by prattling about things that the hall cannot act on?
They frequently call each other names and bicker in the august House.
In the last meeting, two assemblymen dragged out the name of a newspaper editor and attacked his character in the hall where the editor had no chance to defend himself due to the absolute privilege that lets assemblymen say anything they want there without fear of being sued.
But I was relieved because at least five other assemblymen stood up to defend the editor and talked those two assemblymen down.
Unlike them, I do not have absolute privilege so regretfully, I can mention no names.
With today’s technology, it is easy to get to know political candidates before giving them our votes.
Check out their Facebook pages or Google their names to learn about them.
If they are not up to mark, something might show in their social media exchanges.
Remember, the election season is just around the corner. Use your vote wisely.
A
DAP assemblyman has come to the defence of the Penang Forum, saying
that there was no need for the state government to criticise the
coalition of 20 environmental and civil rights organisations.
GEORGE
TOWN: A DAP assemblyman has proposed for a royal commission of inquiry
to be set up to look into the sinkhole in Persiaran Tanjung Bungah and
the landslides in Penang Hill.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang has tabled a higher deficit state Budget of RM740.5million for the next fiscal year of 2018.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng when tabling the budget, stressed that it was an estimate and it can be reduced if the state records a higher revenue collection.
Among some of the initial highlights for the state was a free Rapid Penang bus service during peak rush hours in the mornings and evenings.
Allocations would also be given to aid the medical tourism and hi-tech manufacturing sectors.
Penang has tabled a projected budget deficit of RM748.5 million for next year, compared to a RM667 million deficit for this year as administration and living costs continue to escalate.
However, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng stressed that the state has a unique distinction of tabling projected budget deficits every year yet recording actual surpluses.
Next year's operating expenditure is RM1.25 billion, while the forecast revenue collection is RM503.7 million.
The cost savings come principally through the open tender system and an efficient administration, Lim told the state legislative assembly today.
After some 10 years of facing various external economic challenges, Lim said the state's gross domestic product is projected to outstrip the national average growth of 5.2% for this year.
Penang is targeting a GDP growth of 6% this year with the main contribution coming from manufacturing and services, with farming also showing signs of promise through fish farming.
GDP per capita has increased from RM33,597 in 2010 to RM47,322 in 2016, a 30% increase. Penang's GDP per capita is the second highest in the country, behind only Kuala Lumpur.
From 2015 to the first half of 2017, Penang attracted a total of RM13.8 billion in approved Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Tourism has also grown with the number of passengers at the Penang International Airport (PIA) hitting 6.7 million passengers in 2016, exceeding the airport's capacity of 6.5 million passengers.
The success story in the last 10 years is reflected by annual budget surpluses since 2008, with accumulated budget surpluses over the eight year period between 2008 to 2015 reaching RM578 million.
Lim also announced a range of fresh initiatives, which pundits have described as a people-friendly fiscal plan designed to endear the state government to the voters with the next general election looming near.
> There is a "I Love Penang" card, which is a smartcard for all local residents that allows access to social amenities and benefits provided by the state. The public think tank Penang Institute will be the implementing agency for it, as they have been allocated a budget of RM4.5 million to produce and distribute the smartcards.
> A free public stage bus service was mooted during the daily peak hours in the mornings and evenings – it is aimed at reducing traffic congestion. The project is dependent on the cooperation of RapidPenang.
> Penang has allocated RM60 million to jumpstart a "Pinang Sihat" medical card programme for families whose combined household income is below RM5,000, where the state will subsidise treatment at private clinics.
A medical card will be issued to each recipient, who can only spend up to RM50 per visit to a panel of private clinics who are part of the Pinang Sihat scheme.
"This will help the recipients, who fall ill to see a doctor without worrying too much about expensive charges or travelling to government clinics that are far away from their homes," said Lim.
> The free mammogram examination scheme for women above 35 years shall continue. So far more than 10,000 women have benefited.
> The state will also be increasing the annual payouts for senior citizens and the disabled from RM100 to RM300 for next year.
> A maximum bonus payout of RM2,000 will be accorded to civil servants who have a good disciplinary record while those below par will only receive RM1,000.
> The state will also allocate RM10 million for hill slope protection efforts, as well as to conceive a study on climate change, and tackle illegal farming.
Later, there was a protest at Komtar, led by former Penang PAS Youth head Mohamed Hafiz Nordin, who urged the state government to rescind the alleged appointment of PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail as the new Penang Islamic Religious Council president, replacing Permatang Pasir assemblyman Datuk Salleh Man.
Hafiz argued that Saifuddin was not a religious scholar, therefore he was not suitable for the post. Saifuddin's replied that holding protests is normal in a democracy.
Penang govt also gave an election budget, says MCA leader
"Public housing shortage is serious in Penang. Badminton courts and
swimming pools can be added into low and low medium-cost housing
projects. Tang Heap Seng"
WHAT is wrong with an election budget?
“Election budgets are happy and beneficial things for the rakyat,” said party secretary Tang Heap Seng.
He, however, advised Pakatan Harapan politicians not to “criticise something but did the same themselves”.
“Many Pakatan politicians criticised the Federal Budget and the Penang government did exactly the same.
“They claimed the Federal Budget will help Barisan Nasional win the general election.
“But then, the Penang government also gave an election budget,” said Tang during a press conference at the Penang MCA headquarters in Transfer Road yesterday.
Among the Budget 2018 goodies were Childcare Aid of RM300 for Working Mothers, RM300 aid for each local vocational school students and one-year waiver of business licence for about 29,000 hawkers and traders.
On the state Budget for next year, Tang said while there were many benefits, he was puzzled by the allocation of RM275mil to build 82 badminton courts and four Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“While sports are crucial to a happy society, we wonder why the state paid little attention to Penang’s urgent problems.
“Public housing shortage is serious in Penang. If the government wants to provide badminton courts and swimming pools, these could be added into low and low medium-cost housing projects,” he said.
Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Oh Tong Keong and secretary Hng Chee Wey also issued statements yesterday, expressing bewilderment at the RM275mil allocation.
In contrast, the tabled development expenditure for state Drainage and Irrigation Department is RM12.3mil.
Penang Island City Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council will spend RM20mil on flood mitigation and for hillslope protection, RM10mil was budgeted.
Tang also said the RM53mil budgeted for the development of Islam was commendable, but wondered why only RM1.1mil would be given to Penang Hindu Endowment Board next year.
He said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng only mentioned that RM30mil was given to non-Islamic religious development since 2008 when he tabled the Budget.
He said it would be ideal to allocate RM30mil each for the development of Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Sikhism and other minor religions yearly.
In a statement as well, Penang Women’s Development Corporation applauded the RM300 yearly aid for each working mother under the age of 60 with children aged six and below through the state Budget.
Meanwhile, Lim clarified that the bonus for civil servants would come from the reserved funds of this year’s Budget.
Earlier, Pulau Betong assemblyman Datuk Dr Muhamad Farid Saad had expressed confusion, saying, “How could you give a bonus this year through a Budget for next year?”
Seeking solutions: Penang Forum member and
soil expert Dr Kam Suan Pheng giving her views during the dialogue
session themed ‘Penang Floods: A Call for Action’ held at Teow Chew
Association in Chulia Street, George Town.
(Top pic, front from right)
Pulau Betong assemblyman Datuk Dr Muhammad Farid Saad, state Opposition
Leader Datuk Jahara Hamid and Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin
among the participants.
From left) Sim, Cheah, Dr Norlela, Jahara,
Shah Headan, Lee and Yap occupying the front row at the dialogue on
floods organised by Penang Forum.
Expert: Debris clogging waterways among reasons for flash floods
Some 200 people comprising mostly politicians, experts and residents gather in a dialogue session to discuss the long-standing problem plaguing Penang. Many voice their concerns that over-development in the state could be the cause of the headache.
HEAVY rainfall and high tides are natural causes of floods which cannot be avoided.
However, soil expert and scientist Dr Kam Suan Pheng said there were also other reasons that caused the constant flash floods in Penang.
She said limited capacity to channel off discharge and surface flow which led to water accumulation downstream were some of the causes that resulted in flash floods.
“These issues have been addressed in flood mitigation.
“However, we also have to tackle the causes of increasing impermeable surface areas and debris clogging up waterways, which are also the root causes of flooding problems,” said Dr Kam in her talk on ‘Understanding the Causes of Floods and Seeking Solutions’ yesterday.
Dr Kam, who is also a Penang Forum member, said having proper planning on land usage and development controls, creating more urban spaces and parks besides river bank protection were also vital in flood prevention.
“Stringent monitoring on development projects and protection of hill land and hillslopes are important.
“To do so, policy and legal instruments have to be deployed, while environmentally sensitive and ecologically friendly structural and non-structural solutions should be adopted,” she said.
Dr Kam was one of the speakers at a dialogue session themed ‘Penang Floods: A Call for Action’ held at the Teow Chew Association in Chulia Street.
<< Stringent protection of hill land and hillslopes are vital, says Dr Kam.
Joint Resident Associations of Bandar Baru Ayer Itam chairman K. Suthakar said that for the past two to three years, residents living in Bandar Baru Ayer Itam have been suffering from flash floods.
He said there were some 20 housing schemes in the township comprising 10,000 housing units with a population of 16,000.
“The residents had to face the brunt of it when the whole city was underwater on Sept 15.
“I visited the retention ponds in Lebuh Rambai and Desa Permata Bandar Baru Ayer Itam on Saturday to check whether the ponds have been deepened.
“Sadly, nothing has been done,” he said.
He asked some of the state assemblymen, who were present at the dialogue session, to raise the issue when the state assembly convenes on Thursday.
When hills are at their natural state, they will not collapse, says Aziz Noor.
When hills are at their natural state, they will not collapse, says Aziz Noor.>>
Environmental, health and safety consultant Aziz Noor, in his talk on ‘Implications of Hillside Development’, said landslides commonly happened on hillsides or slopes that were cleared.
“When the hills are at their natural state, they will not collapse.
“But when the natural state is violated with the slopes being cut, then landslides are bound to happen.
“Whenever there is a downpour on the cut hill slopes, there would be mudslides contributing to muddy flash floods as well,” he said.
Filepic of recent flooding in Taman Thean Tek, Ayer Itam, Penang.
The dialogue session saw a packed hall of almost 200 people, comprising mostly residents and representatives of residents associations who were affected by the recent flash floods.
Several state assemblymen and politicians from both sides of the divide also turned up at the event organised by Penang Forum and Residents Association of Penang.
Among those present were Penang Barisan Nasional chairman Teng Chang Yeow, state Opposition Leader Datuk Jahara Hamid, Pulau Betong assemblyman Datuk Dr Muhammad Farid Saad, Teluk Bahang assemblyman Datuk Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah, Kebun Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin, Machang Bubuk assemblyman Lee Khai Loon, Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Soo Huey and Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin.
Sources: The Star by Logeiswary Thevadas
Engineer: Look out for ‘ticking time bombs’ from hill slopes
GEORGE TOWN: A geotechnical engineer has warned the authorities that steeply-cut hill slopes are “ticking time bombs” that need constant monitoring and maintenance.
Zeezy Global geotechnical and environmental consultant Aziz Noor said in view of the Tanjung Bungah landslide on Oct 21 that took the lives of 11 workers, all authorities, not only in Penang but throughout Malaysia, should keep an eye on all steep slopes as disaster might strike at any time.
He said although a hill slope might appear fine from the outside, it could be on the brink of collapse due to water pressure and vibrations from the surrounding environment.
“Most of these slopes are clay mixed with sand. Clay has an affinity ( to stick together). At particle level, they can hold up.
“When water comes down steep slopes they break the affinity of these particles. And yet they still hold up but it just speeds up the time of the collapse.
“That is why they do not fall right away. They are a time bomb, a disaster waiting to happen,” he said at a talk hosted by Penang Forum today.
Aziz, an American-trained environmental and geotechnical expert, was manager of an independent consultant engineering firm investigating the aftermath of the Highland Towers collapse in Ulu Kelang, Selangor, in 1993, in which 48 people were killed.
He said hills cut beyond their “natural angle” were the ones to watch out for.
“A hill slope that is cut beyond its natural stable angle is not a stable slope. Such slopes are at high risk of failure and can end up in landslides.
“When you have bare slopes like that, the portion of runoff is large; the steeper the slope, the faster the ‘teh tarik’ (mud slide) comes down.
“Basically, when the water runs off faster, the more erosion it causes, and the faster it will go down to lower-lying areas and cause flash floods with silt,” he said.
Aziz said to prevent such disasters from happening, engineers ought to cut hills at a more natural angle and ensure drain holes are built into them.
He said drain holes would release the “water stress” that might be building up beneath the slopes.
Aziz stressed that these measures were not one-off solutions and required constant monitoring from all parties.
“Ordinary folk might think, okay, looks like a nice concrete wall. But you do not know what is going on underneath, and hence, you need to maintain the hillslopes from time to time.
“That is why you see the slopes on our PLUS highway are constantly being maintained. It is something you do not mess around with,” he said.
Aziz said many construction sites cut corners by placing plastic sheets on cut hillslopes, which would not help much in preventing landslides.
“This is akin to putting a band-aid on a very sick person,” he said.
On the Tanjung Bungah landslide, Aziz said the state authorities must beef up their monitoring teams and place them on full patrol at all sites in the state.
“We need all the ‘jabatan’ (departments) to wake up and not sleep behind the wheel. Present-day laws are adequate to enforce and punish those who flout the law.”
Sources: Free Malaysia Today
Penangites upset with DAP reps for skipping dialogue
Front row,
from right) Penang Barisan Nasional chairman Teng Chang Yeow, Pulau
Betong representative Muhammad Farid Saad and state opposition leader
Jahara Hamid at the Penang Forum dialogue on flood woes and hill site
developments. – The Malaysian Insight pic, October 29, 2017.
RESIDENTS associations in Penang today were upset that most of their elected representatives skipped a dialogue on flood woes and hill site developments, as local civil society groups continue to push for a moratorium on hill projects. Penang Forum, a coalition of local civil society groups, had invited the state’s elected reps, but fewer than 10 turned up at the dialogue that drew about 200 people to the Teochew Association in George Town. The assemblymen seen among the crowd were state opposition leader Jahara Hamid (Teluk Air Tawar), Muhammad Farid Saad (Pulau Betong) and Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah (Teluk Bahang) from Barisan Nasional (BN); and Cheah Kah Peng (Kebun Bunga), Dr Norlela Ariffin (Penanti) and Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubok) from PKR. Pulau Tikus rep Yap Soo Huey was the sole DAP assemblyman present while the only MP at the dialogue was PKR’s Sim Tze Tzin of Bayan Baru. The only other DAP member present was Penang Island City councillor Syerleena Abdul Razak. Also present were Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow, several Gerakan leaders, and Penang Front Party’s Patrick Ooi, who has been critical of the Penang government in the past. Jahara said the BN reps in the Penang legislative assembly would table a motion to call for all hill land and slope projects to be halted. “We are not here to point fingers, but fingers have to be pointed at the authorities,” she said. Norlela, one of the most vocal PKR reps on local developmental issues, said she hoped Pakatan Harapan and BN could set aside their differences to solve flood woes and developmental issues in the state. Norlela was one of five PKR government backbenchers who abstained from voting to reject a BN motion on land reclamation during the state legislative assembly in November 2015. DAP holds the most seats in the Penang legislative assembly with 19 out of 40. PKR has 10 while PAS has one seat. BN’s Umno holds the remaining 10. In a press conference last week after a landslide in Tanjung Bungah killed 11 construction workers, some residents association reps warned the state government that it could lose votes if it continued to allow hill site developments and ignored the people’s objections. At the dialogue today, the joint residents association rep for Bandar Baru Ayer Itam, K. Suthakar, took a dig at the elected officials when speaking about flood woes in his area. He said Lebuhraya Thean Teik had “turned into a river” when a bad flood hit last month, causing residents to miss work and school. “Why do they become elected reps? Because they want to serve the people, to solve their problems. But after the election, you don’t see them for three or four years. People are crying for help but you have no time to come,” he said. Tanjung Bungah Residents Association chairman Meenakshi Raman also said she had expected more than 10 elected reps to attend the dialogue. “We are disappointed that not many could attend. We had hoped to see more DAP reps,” she said. It was learned that DAP had an internal party programme at the same time this morning on mainland Penang in preparation for the party’s special congress on Nov 12 to re-elect its central leadership committee. Meenakshi said the residents association and other civil groups, which recently criticised the state government over hill site developments and flash flood incidents in Penang, were still willing to engage the powers that be in dialogue. This was despite the association not getting replies to letters it recently sent out to all Penang assemblymen and MPs on its demands to solve flash flood problems. “We are ordinary people. We have nothing against them, but some (leaders) have accused us of being arrogant. Elected reps must be accountable. There is nothing wrong with the people asking the state government and their YBs (assemblymen) what they are doing,” she told The Malaysian Insight after the dialogue.
Climate change Meanwhile, Dr Kam Suan Pheng, an expert in geographical information systems, told the dialogue session that floods in Penang were caused by both weather conditions and human activities, adding that the situation would worsen with climate change. “Since 2003, the emerging trend for rainfall is increasing. Flash floods will be more frequent, happening at lower rainfall thresholds. “With climate change, we can expect heavier and more intense rainfall,” she said, adding that Penang’s urban drainage was not well planned enough to prevent floods. Kam said the authorities must tackle the root causes with proper land use planning and development control, stringent protection of hills and river banks, strict monitoring of development projects, and by increasing the number of urban parks. She said the authorities must also look beyond the environmental, drainage, transportation and social impacts of individual projects, use existing laws and policies and adopt eco-friendly solutions. Aziz Noor – a consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in areas of environment, health and safety in Malaysia and overseas – said Penang should take the recent Lembah Permai landslide as a wake-up call. “Legislative controls are more than adequate but compliance is sporadic. Enforcement has been weak,” said Aziz, who is managing director of Penang-based consulting firm Zeezy Global. Another speaker at the dialogue, lawyer Agatha Foo, said legally, the state should stop development on ecologically-sensitive land over 76m above sea level and on slopes over 25 degrees gradient using existing laws and guidelines. She also said the authorities could impose strict enforcement, and seek a jail sentence for company directors whose firms violate the law as a more effective deterrent than fines. – October 29, 2017.
