‘No point shouting after the hills are gone’

SAM says that a developer is talking through his hat by saying that people must stop complaining till after all the high-rise hill development has been completed.

GEORGE TOWN: One developer wants all criticism to stop until all the high-rise development on the island is completed. But then it will too late to do anything as all the hills will be gone.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) said it would be pointless to make a judgement on the projects’ environmental impact after the damage has been done.

SAM president SM Mohamed Idris took Nazir Ariff, the executive director of Ivory Properties Group Berhad, to task for saying this.

Idris said that if one were to take a ride along the tourist belt between Tanjung Tokong and Teluk Bahang, one would see that “the sight of hills has already become an eye sore due to greedy development.”

He said Nazir failed to understand what was the public campaign against hillside developments all about.

“Is he (Nazir) saying that Penangites must wait until the developers have destroyed and flattened our natural hills and greeneries?”

“What’s there to argue about when hills are gone? We want to stop all high-density hillside developments altogether because the projects are detrimental to the environment and quality of life,” he said.

At a press conference yesterday, Nazir slammed critics for attacking high rise and hillside developments without in-depth research.

He claimed that developers were responsible people abiding strictly to stringent rules and regulations, including those aimed at minimising environmental damage.

Butcher and cow
However, Idris brushed aside Nazir’s claim, equating developers and environment to the relationship between a butcher and a cow.

“The butcher will only know to slaughter a cow to profit from its meat.

“He will not know other benefits a cow gives to us like milk, organic fertiliser and a balance to eco-system,” said Idris, also the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) president.

He said destruction of hills would be detrimental not only to humans, but also animals, fauna, flora, and natural drainage and irrigation system, which were all imperative for balanced eco-system.

He pointed out that large hilly areas covering Bukit Gambir, Sungai Ara and Relau were now virtually wiped out after the previous Barisan Nasional administration converted it from hill conservation to commercial use few decades ago.

“Now we have lost a crucial hilly environment that should have been preserved and conserved for our future generation,” he told FMT.

The Pakatan Rakyat state government has come under heavy fire from the media, neighbourhood groups, environmentalists, consumer organisations and Barisan Nasional politicians for allowing what one critic has described as “unscrupulous, unsystematic and unsustainable high density and highland development”.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who has had to bear the brunt of the criticism, has routinely evaded responsibility by blaming the previous administration.

To this, Idris said no matter who was in power, the government of the day had a responsibility to protect the interests and fulfill demands and needs of the public.

He pointed out that environment matters were major ‘life and death’ issues, hence it should be above politics.