THE Penang government will not compromise the safety of any development projects in the state, Penang Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said.
“I want to stress that safety aspect is our utmost concern.
“The state government imposes very strict regulations for developers to comply when they seek the state’s approval for their development projects.
“When a developer intends to develop a project, the developer has to submit a plan to the Technical State Planning Committee.
“I chair the committee and there are dozens of agencies in the committee who will provide their feedback or regulations that have to be complied before approval can be given,” Jagdeep Singh replying to the oral question from Opposition Leader Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Nor (BN-Sungai Dua) during the State Legislative Assembly sitting today.
Jagdeep Singh said the state did not wish for any of the tragedies to happen.
“Don’t tell me that we want the Granito and Bukit Kukus tragedies to happen? These incidents happened not only in Penang.
“Remember the Highland Towers fatal incident in Selangor? Do you think that the Barisan Nasional government at that time wished for it to happen too? That incident happened because of the water runoff and stream below the ground.
“I do not wish to comment or provide my views since we are in the midst of investigation, although we have the preliminary findings.
“I also do not wish to blame Mother Nature because if I do, the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will then say that I want to blame Mother Nature for the incidents that happened.
“But can we deny the fact that days before the Granito and Bukit Kukus incidents, there were heavy rain in the area?
“That is the fact and we believe that it is one of the contributing factors of the incidents.
Jagdeep also explained the change of the world’s weather pattern.
“The world’s weather pattern has changed. On Nov 4 and 5 last year, Penang was hit by 15 hours of rain. A total of 375mm rain hit the state, an amount which was equivalent to three to four months of rain,” he said.
He said Penang has land constraints on the island.
“The Penang island is saturated. When we tried to move to the hills, the NGOs became angry.
“We then imposed a strict regulation on hillside development, one that is much more rigorous than that of the Federal Government.
“We tried to look for options, such as land reclamation. But when we tried to do land reclamation, the NGOs also became angry. Where can the future generation go then?” he questioned.
Jagdeep Singh said that the state would continue with the Bukit Kukus paired road project.
“The project will be continued under strict safety regulations and monitoring.
“This public infrastructure project has to continue as it will benefit the public as a whole.
“I agree with Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Nor (BN-Sungai Dua) that safety precautions need to be improved,” he added.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Alvie Cheng