GEORGE TOWN: The state government should tackle the quarrying taking place on hills in the state before disaster strikes.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should be proactive rather than reactive in handling the issue, said Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) immediate past president Professor Dr Maketab Mohamed.
“The Penang government should leave the hills alone since they serve as watersheds for streams and waterfalls.
“As it is, enough destruction has been done to the hills.
“The state should not allow any more destructive resource exploitation, which includes quarrying,” he told the New Straits Times here yesterday.
The NST recently exposed massive quarrying taking place on the mainland in Penang, including Juru, Bukit Tambun, Berapit, Kubang Semang and Simpang Ampat.
The NST expose also led Maketab to call for amendments to the Federal Constitution, saying that states should not have sole discretion over land and water matters.
Citing Indonesia as an example, Maketab said Indonesian President Joko Widodo had imposed a moratorium on logging permits and bauxite mining.
“By amending the constitution, this will allow the Federal Government to have a say on land and water matters in the states.
“This will also allow the Federal Government to impose a moratorium on quarrying in Penang to minimise its impact on the people and the environment.
“But, without such power, the Federal Government’s hands are tied.”
Maketab said if the DAP-led
administration was serious in advocating a greener Penang, it should amend the state constitution so that people had a say in the change of land use that affected their
neighbourhoods.
Currently, Selangor is the only state that has an enactment that makes it compulsory for local communities to be consulted before any change in land use.
He said the state should quarry for materials in areas with least impact, suggesting neighbouring Perak as an option.
“The thing is, the state and the developer want things easy. It is a Malaysian malaise. They are always thinking about profits and about themselves.
“In a civil society, you have to think about the impact of what you do on the environment and on other people,” he said.
Maketab said the state government was killing the “golden goose” of natural attractions that brought tourists to the state.
“Development in Penang should be complementary to tourism and not in conflict with it.
“If the state values tourism, they should make sure the aesthetics are there; not some botak hills.
“Who wants to take photographs with a raped hill behind (them)?”