GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government today told its critics that there was no cover-up in gazetting the Special Area Plan (SAP) for the Penang Botanic Gardens.
State Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said every step taken in the gazetting process was according to the law.
He said, altogether, 27 internal meetings and public discussions were held between May 2011 and March 2018 before the SAP document was finally gazetted in July.
“Some of these critics were among those who had participated in the public discussion.
“They must have forgotten. It was a very lengthy process and we can assure that the views of all have been taken into account as we know how the people of Penang are.
“The SAP hinges on the Penang State Park (Botanic) Corporation Enactment 2017, with the main thrusts to preserve and protect the gardens.
“I have said that we will strive for Unesco World Heritage Site listing for our gardens.
“We will do that. We will certainly not destroy our gardens,” he said today.
Yesterday, a public briefing on the SAP for the Penang Botanic Gardens here left many dissatisfied with the answers provided by its curator, Dr Saw Leng Guan.
The nearly 200 concerned Penangites, including representatives of numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs), who were present at the two-hour-long session, particularly trained their guns at the state government for gazetting the SAP document in a “hush-hush” manner without going through a public inspection as required under the Town and Country Planning Act.
Botanical researcher Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat dismissed the SAP as a “useless document”, questioning the experience of the consultants who had prepared it.
Lim, an architect, also said that the SAP document was a complete “rojak” (derogatory term to describe incompetency or disorganisation) document and should be rejected and reviewed.
Penang Hills Watch coordinator Dr Kam Suan Pheng said that since the SAP had gone through an amendment, a public inspection should have been held.
Jagdeep said the question of a review did not arise as the SAP document had been gazetted.
“We have given the people ample opportunity to provide the views and feedback.
“If anyone has any more positive inputs to further enhance the gardens, they can always write to me.”
The Penang Botanic Gardens, which is the oldest garden in Malaysia set up in 1884, covering 212ha of land – the bulk of which is for conservation.
The SAP dictates what can or cannot be built, with only 40ha of it meant for development.
Seven major projects have been announced and to be divided into two categories — the Entrance Redevelopment and Frontage Enhancement and the Old Garden Improvement and Development.
Under the Entrance Redevelopment and Frontage Enhancement, the Central Visitor Centre will commence as Project 1, followed by Plant Conversation and Research Centre, Malaysiana Boulevard, Garden Mall Restoration and Nature’s Amphitheatre.
Under the Old Garden Improvement and Development, there are two key projects, namely the Service Yard Facilities, Nursery and Irrigation System and Viewing Tower and Viewing Deck.
Some 800,000 visited the Penang Botanic Gardens this year alone.