NGOs have welcomed the cancellation of a RM100 million fund to develop a cable car project on Penang hill.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman said the project is not environmentally sustainable, both to the hill and the botanic gardens in the area. The NGO has opposed the cable car project.
"The cable car project, if implemented, will cause irreparable damage to the gardens and Penang hill through the building of more hotels, bungalows for the rich elites, cafes, amusement joints, and roads," Meenakshi told Malaysiakini.
Meenakshi was responding to chief minister Chow Kon Yeow who expressed "extreme" disappointment that the RM100 million federal allocation to develop the cable car system on Penang hill was cancelled.
Chow said the cancellation of the fund will have a negative impact on the Penang economy. The fund was announced during the Budget 2020 tabling by then finance minister Lim Guan Eng last October.
Meenakshi recalled major issues regarding how eight to 10 heavy pylons would be needed to support the cable-car network.
Transporting and installing the pylons via road-building, excavation, and construction work were said to be disruptive to the environment.
"Once construction works are over, maintenance tracks below the cable-car line will be needed and all this will cause disruption to fragile and environmentally-sensitive areas at Penang hill and the botanic gardens," Meenakshi said.
The network would connect to a station near the Penang Rifle Club at the botanic gardens to the Habitat, an ecological park on the hill.
Penang-based Aliran said the project is not a priority as tourism will be badly hit after Covid-19.
Aliran is part of a coalition of NGOs opposing the state's proposed mega-projects such as an undersea tunnel linking the island to Butterworth and the Penang south reclamation project, which are part of the Penang transport master plan.
Its spokesperson Anil Netto said with the national economy in dire straits, the money saved could be better spent on the people.
"Moreover, many are worried about the ecological impact of the cable car project," he said.
"It is also time to review all other wasteful or ecologically unsustainable mega projects in Penang," he added.
Anil said the argument that these projects are needed to generate jobs does not hold water.
He explained that there are more sustainable ways of creating employment in new or neglected sectors, such as in non-toxic renewable energy, waste reduction, and recycling.
"These sectors also include education and the arts, organic or urban farming, public healthcare, and the building and operation of non-polluting buses, ferries, and trains," Anil said. - Mkini
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