Only God can make a tree

No longer green: At least 16 trees along Jalan Cochrane were chopped down without approval.

I’M no tree-hugger, but a contractor’s callous act of chopping down 16 raintrees in Jalan Cochrane in Kuala Lumpur has really riled me up.

These shady, decades-old trees not only provided much-needed shade to pedestrians but were the last few remaining majestic antiquities that reminded me of the good old days. Unfortunately, they are now reduced to nothing more than stumps, chopped down to make way for a road-widening project.