Residents stage silent protest against hill development

Leng (left) with other residents showing pictures of the hillside development near their homes in Miami Green, Batu Ferringhi, outside at state assembly building in George Town.

At the Penang State Assembly 

FIVE people stood quietly outside the state assembly building while the sitting went on. 

They did not make a ruckus or shout in anger, but the posters they held bespoke their purpose: They wanted a hillside development in Penang near their home to be stopped.

The group, who are members of the Miami Green Residents Association, were outside the state assembly building around noon yesterday.

Led by the association’s development sub-committee member Leslie Leng, they handed over a letter to the state government about their objection against the project next to their condominium near Miami Beach.

State exco member Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim accepted the letter on behalf of the state government.

Leng, 41, urged the state to review and stop all hillside development immediately.

“We can’t really do much as this project has been approved but only recently when you see the landslide tragedy in Tanjung Bungah and the floods, the residents are starting to become more concerned.

“We hope that the state government listens to our plea to review and stop all hillside projects, not only the ones in Batu Ferringhi.

“They also need to review the guidelines. The development in Tanjung Bungah for example, we know that only 18 or 19 Government departments approved the project out of the required 20.

“Even if one did not approve it, you should not proceed with it as well,” he said.

Resident Jack Vallin, 53, said the residents wanted the new development next to their condominium to be safe for everyone.

“We want this development to be stopped until proper studies are conducted.

“If it collapses, it will hit many buildings down there in the area and there’s also a hotel next to it. It would be a big disaster for everyone living there,” he said.

Another resident Happy Chan claimed that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) study for the new development was completed in three months when the process would usually take between one to two years.