Penang govt urged to cancel hillslope projects

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government should cancel controversial hillslope projects, even if it will incur losses, Penang Gerakan local government bureau head Teh Leong Meng said.

Teh said the state government should do what was best for the people.

Asked if the state should go to court to cancel upcoming hillslope projects even if it may result in massive losses to the state, Teh said: “Correct, because you have to comply with the law and do the right thing.”

Teh, however, claimed that it was unlikely that the state would need to fork out any compensation to developers if the matter was brought to court.

He said even though approvals for certain hillslope projects may have been obtained years ago, a new legislature in the form of the Penang Structure Plan came into force in June 2007.

“This structure plan was gazetted on June 28, 2007 and supersedes all other guidelines.

“It clearly says that high-risk slopes, which include land above 76m or have a slope gradient of over 25 degrees should not be used for housing,” Teh said.

He claimed that the law was not bound by retrospective legislation and since a number of the hillslope projects had yet to begin construction, the state could now reject renewals for building permission based on the new legislature.

Questioned about hillslope projects that had been approved by the previous Gerakan-led state government after the Penang Structure Plan had been enforced, Teh said he could not comment as he did not have the full facts.

Asked about Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s challenge to provide a letter of indemnity to cover any possible compensation costs, Teh said there would be no element of risk should other parties pledge to cover any losses. - The Star