Monday, October 23, 2006

Ready to meet residents



SEEKING MEETING:Lee(second right)having a discussion with(from left)Prof Amir Fawzi,Gladys,Chan and Dr Leong outside Abu Bakar's office.

PENANG: The Penang Municipal Council is willing to hold closed door meetings with the Tanjong Bunga Residents Association on en-vironmental issues arising from the rapid development in Tanjung Bunga.

Association treasurer Lee Laine said she was happy that the council was opening its doors to allow residents to give their feedback.
“We asked for a public dialogue but council president Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan suggested that a clo-sed door meeting was more appropriate.
“If there is an open door dialogue, he fears there would be too many issues and we cannot focus on any particular issue,” she told newsmen after meeting Abu Bakar at his office in Komtar here yesterday.

Among the committee members present were Datuk Dr Leong Yueh Kwong, Assoc Prof Dr Amir Fawzi Bahaudin, Chan Kok Fook and Gla-dys Lee.

At the meeting, the association presented a petition on specific ac-tion that could be taken by the council in the next one year. The association urged the council to extend the neighbourhood hearings prior to the approval of high-rise developments to a wider neighbourhood. Lee said the area of inclusion should be proportionate to the height of the proposed development as more residents would be affected if the building was higher.

She said the council should consider the views of area residents and the association when formulating local plans and evalua- ting development projects in the area.

“Development should be based on the principle of planning with the environment that would cause minimal destruction to the natu- ral topography and geology,” she said.
The petition contains 279 signatures mostly collected during a public forum organised by the association in Tanjung Bunga on July 2.

Lee said the association, registe-red last Aug 30, had embarked on a membership drive. Those interested can call her at 012-5811123 or email tanjongbunga@yahoo.com.

Taken from : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/2/north/15019492&sec=north

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