Penang urged to stop hill slope development

KUALA LUMPUR: The Penang government should not go ahead with hill slope development projects due to its potentially adverse environmental impact, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

"The Penang government must play a big role in prioritising development in the state.

"(On) hill slope projects, I ask please don't carry them out, because yesterday (Sunday) we saw a landslide in Tanjung Bungah," he said, adding it was fortunate that the houses affected were unoccupied.

"I am very confident that if the Penang government has any extra funds, it should address the question of floods first, for the welfare of the people," Wan Junaidi said in a media conference after a visit to the National Flood Forecasting Centre here on Monday.

He said what happened in Penang was not a flash flood, but was due to unexpectedly high rainfall and made worse due to the spring tide phenomenon, where high sea levels prevent rainwater from flowing out to the sea.

On whether over development had aggravated the floods, Wan Junaidi said he did not want to link the issue to politics.

"I only mention that there was high rainfall and high tide causing the floods in Penang.

"But when the rain falls, and if we have cleared our forests and hills, it will reduce the water absorption capacity of the area and in the end cause floods.

"And if our drainage capacity is inadequate or clogged with mud, silting or debris like we see in Kuala Lumpur, then we get floods.

"It's not due to one single factor," he said.

He explained that Penang and other northern states in the Peninsular may still experience continued heavy rain due to the current inter-monsoon season.

He said heavy rains will then shift to east coast Peninsular states especially Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, when the northeast monsoon starts next month.