Penang Island's Waterfront
Hong Kong Island's Central Business District: Hong Kong's public expenditure is 10 times that of Penang.
Pedestrian linkages in Hong Kong enable people to move about safely.
This is Hong Kong Island. AS expected, too much is at stake for the Penang State Government to ban hill-slope projects in the State. (see previous post). The case of Hong Kong should be taken within its proper context. Much public funds would be needed for the State and Municipal authorities to monitor and maintain built slopes. I believe Hong Kong's per capita GDP is at least three times that of Penang's, and its annual budget expenditure is 10 times that of Penang and MPPP's combined. Its population is about 7 times the size of Penang's. It's wishful thinking to expect the Federal Government to pay, as the PM said, for some people to enjoy the good view. We just do not have the resources, period.
Hong Kong's public services is super-efficient. It is business-friendly in the true sense of the word. For example, the huge investment in public infrastructure such as its public transportation system and its famous pedestrian linkages between and within buildings that are all geared towards making it easy for people to move around and providing an efficient business environment.
These are the priorities that Penang should consider and not be distracted by projects that are bound to create environmental problems, degrade the landscape and spoil the natural beauty of the island.
The Penang State Structure Plan has reported that there is sufficient developable land in the State and the present housing supply including those coming onstream is sufficient to last until the year 2020 and beyond. So there is really no justification for the government to allow our hills to be cut and degrade the natural environment.
If it is really that important for the economy and the people of Penang, then the State Government should impose a levy on developers and purchasers of hill-slope developments to pay for the monitoring and maintenance of built slopes.
The Street, Drainage and Building Act and the Local Government Act should be amended to remove the 'protection' clause for those in authority. Let Councillors be answerable and subject to legal action.
No blanket ban on hillside projects in Penang
This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my/)URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/14/nation/2805042&sec=nation
__________________________________________________________________________
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government will not introduce a blanket state-wide ban on hillside projects, state Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said.
He said good practices and guidelines was the key to avoiding disasters.
“We are concerned about landslides but we do not intend to take a drastic stand and ban hillside development altogether.
“With good guidelines and engineering practices, development can go on,” Chow said before launching a courtesy campaign at a shopping centre here yesterday.
Citing Hong Kong as an example, Chow said hillside development could be carried out smoothly with the right guidelines.
However, he said, the state government would not hesitate to slap a stop work order on any project which flouted the guidelines.
“We have issued many stop work orders since we took office (in March). The important thing is to ensure that development on hillsides are done safely and under close supervision,” Chow said.
He said the state executive council had, on Friday, decided to form two supporting committees to the recently formulated independent panel of engineering advisers that was given the task of evaluating hillslope projects in the state.
“A supervisory committee will help in overseeing hillside development projects with the state Town and Country Planning Committee acting as the secretariat. The enforcement committee, on the other hand, will work under the Penang Municipal Council to ensure all rules are complied with,” Chow said.
Hong Kong's public services is super-efficient. It is business-friendly in the true sense of the word. For example, the huge investment in public infrastructure such as its public transportation system and its famous pedestrian linkages between and within buildings that are all geared towards making it easy for people to move around and providing an efficient business environment.
These are the priorities that Penang should consider and not be distracted by projects that are bound to create environmental problems, degrade the landscape and spoil the natural beauty of the island.
The Penang State Structure Plan has reported that there is sufficient developable land in the State and the present housing supply including those coming onstream is sufficient to last until the year 2020 and beyond. So there is really no justification for the government to allow our hills to be cut and degrade the natural environment.
If it is really that important for the economy and the people of Penang, then the State Government should impose a levy on developers and purchasers of hill-slope developments to pay for the monitoring and maintenance of built slopes.
The Street, Drainage and Building Act and the Local Government Act should be amended to remove the 'protection' clause for those in authority. Let Councillors be answerable and subject to legal action.
No blanket ban on hillside projects in Penang
This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my/)URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/14/nation/2805042&sec=nation
__________________________________________________________________________
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government will not introduce a blanket state-wide ban on hillside projects, state Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said.
He said good practices and guidelines was the key to avoiding disasters.
“We are concerned about landslides but we do not intend to take a drastic stand and ban hillside development altogether.
“With good guidelines and engineering practices, development can go on,” Chow said before launching a courtesy campaign at a shopping centre here yesterday.
Citing Hong Kong as an example, Chow said hillside development could be carried out smoothly with the right guidelines.
However, he said, the state government would not hesitate to slap a stop work order on any project which flouted the guidelines.
“We have issued many stop work orders since we took office (in March). The important thing is to ensure that development on hillsides are done safely and under close supervision,” Chow said.
He said the state executive council had, on Friday, decided to form two supporting committees to the recently formulated independent panel of engineering advisers that was given the task of evaluating hillslope projects in the state.
“A supervisory committee will help in overseeing hillside development projects with the state Town and Country Planning Committee acting as the secretariat. The enforcement committee, on the other hand, will work under the Penang Municipal Council to ensure all rules are complied with,” Chow said.
1 comment:
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Unique and beautiful pictures.
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Happy holiday.
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