GEORGE TOWN: For more than 10 years now, residents have been fighting to stop a hillslope development near their homes.
Now, they have been proven tragically right – a landslide has killed a doctor in Taman Seri Rambai in Paya Terubong here.
Residents of the housing estate and nearby Taman Lau Geok Swee have been raising concerns over hillside development, rock blasting, mudflows and the safety of their neighbourhood for years now.
As early as October 2015, the earthworks on the hillside behind their homes left roads muddy whenever it rained.
Between 2015 and 2017, when residents sought political intervention and took their case to the state Appeals Board.
In 2017, when a deadly landslide occurred at a construction site in Tanjung Bungah, they again reminded that they, too, were facing a similar threat.
A check on the construction notice board yesterday shows that work on the hill above the affected properties is now for the building of a block with two apartment towers comprising a tower with 783 units in 35 levels and another with 887 units in 34 levels.
There will be eight lower ground levels and two more above grounds for multistorey car parks, common facilities, shops and a management office.
The development had first started as six-storey townhouses but had undergone several changes along the way.
Meanwhile, Penang MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau adviser Lim Thoon Deong said authorities should not wait for another tragedy before taking decisive action.
“The people of Penang deserve transparency, accountability and, above all, the assurance that their lives and homes are safe.
“One life lost is already one too many. Development must never take precedence over human life,” he said in a statement.
Lim said he had previously raised concerns about the suitability and safety of constructing such tall buildings on a steep slope, particularly so close to existing houses.
“Despite objections from the Paya Terubong Residents Association and concerned non-governmental organisations, the development was allowed to proceed.
“The authorities maintained that the necessary precautionary measures had been considered,” he added.
Lim called on the state government to conduct an independent investigation into the latest landslide as well as a geotechnical assessment of the hillside, taking into account the high-rise development and slope stability.
“The original planning approvals and safety requirements must also be reviewed, and for the findings be made available to the public,” he said.
After the fatal landslide, stop-work orders have been issued for a housing development and slope stabilisation works behind the affected row of houses, pending safety inspections.
Several residents were also allowed to retrieve essential belongings from their homes under the supervision of the authorities.
A resident known as Loon, said his family of nine had been told to temporarily vacate their home.
“For now, we have booked two hotel rooms for three days, while some of us will stay at a Buddhist religious centre.
“But we still do not know what will happen after that,” he said, adding that muddy water had entered homes in the neighbourhood before, with the worst incident occurring in 2017.
