FOR URGENT ATTENTION --
This was the press release issued on Sunday, 9 July 2017 at a press conference at Sunrise Condominium in Sungei Ara which received very good press coverage in the Chinese media.
See details below:
Support for appeal by Sg.
Ara residents against
Sunway Hills project on
hillslopes
Several Residents’ Associations and
organisations in Penang have come together in a show of support and solidarity for
the Sungei Ara residents who are appealing the decision of the Penang High
Court, delivered on 29 May 2017.
The High Court had ruled in favour of Sunway
City and overturned the decision of the Penang Appeals Board which had decided
in favour of the residents in not granting planning permission for the Sunway
Hills project.
The Sunway Hills
project by Sunway City in Sungei Ara, involves housing development on sensitive
hill land, that is land with more than 250 feet (76 metres) above sea level and
a gradient exceeding 25 degrees.
Sunway proposes to construct 600 units comprising
high-rise apartments and bungalows on hill lands covering 80 acres,
approximately 43% of which are on slopes exceeding a gradient of 25 degrees.
On 20 Nov. 2015, the Appeals Board, upheld the
objections by the residents who were owners of neighbouring lands against the
approval of the project by the Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang (MBPP).
Sunway City had argued that the MBPP had
granted planning permission properly because the proposed development is a
‘special project.’ The residents argued that the sensitive hill lands are
unsuitable for the development proposed.
The Appeals Board ruled that the MBPP was
wrong in granting the approval as it had failed to consider properly that (in
this case), the primary objective of the Penang Structure Plan 2020 is to
preserve hill lands; and only very limited and justifiable exceptions were
allowed as ‘special projects’, which justification was lacking in the Sunway
project.
Following the decision of the Appeals Board, the Penang Chief Minister
Lim Guan Eng, had on 26 February 2016, at a press conference, announced that the MBPP could now overturn the approvals given to similar hill
slope special projects approved by the previous Barisan Nasional
government. The
legal adviser of MBPP, Puan Shamiah and also YB Jagdeep Singh Deo, a State
Exco member and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman, were also at this
press conference.
HAKAM (the
National Human Rights Society) and Penang Forum, who were invited to
attend the press conference, applauded the State government's support for
the Appeals Board decision as it best served the public interest and sustainable
development.
The Penang Structure
Plan 2020 was gazetted in 2007 and states that the exception to the prohibition
on hill land development is only for ‘special projects’ but it does not define what
they are.
The definition
and the guidelines for ‘special projects’ were approved by the present
government in 2009. How the guidelines are to be interpreted is the bone of
contention in the Sungei Ara residents case.
Following the
clarification provided by the Appeals Board in the Sunway case, the expectation
was that the State government would have revised or redefined what are ‘special
projects’ in the 2009 guidelines to prohibit future private development on hill
lands.
We are therefore surprised that at the
hearing at the Penang High Court, the counsel for MBPP took a different stance from
that publicly announced by the Chief Minister.
The Sungei Ara
residents were disappointed that the lawyers for the MBPP argued against the
clarity of the definition provided by the Appeals Board as regards
‘special projects’.
We are indeed
intrigued as to the change of stance by the MBPP and would like to enquire what
stance the State government and MBPP will now take before the Court of
Appeal when the residents seek to restore the Appeals Board decision.
We are supporting the appeal against the High
Court decision, as it has serious implications not only for the immediate
residents of the vicinity of the project but also for all citizens of Penang
who will be affected by development projects in environmentally sensitive
areas, including on hillslopes and highlands in Penang.
The decision will also have serious implications
for all cases involving planning law in the country.
The High Court, in ruling in favour of Sunway
City, had among other things, held the project to be a ‘special project,’ and
hence an exception to the Structure Plan.
The Judge in the case had also suggested that
the Structure Plan “need not be slavishly complied” with by the MBPP.
These are serious matters of public interest
which must be reviewed by the Court of Appeal. The High Court decision must not
serve as a precedent for other development projects on hill lands and
environmentally sensitive areas.
Consequently, the Sungei
Ara residents have filed a Notice of Appeal against the decision-and we stand
in solidarity with them in their appeal.
The Chief Minister in the
press conference last year, acknowledged that the High Court case “is expected
to be the case of the century for planning law in Malaysia,” and had blamed the
previous government for approving projects on sensitive hill lands.
Given the above, we call for the following actions to be taken urgently:
It
is vital for the Chief Minister and the MBPP to make clear their
position as regards the appeal by the residents to restore the Appeals
Board decision;
The
State government revise or redefine what are ‘special projects’ in the
2009 guidelines in order to explicitly prohibit any future development
on hill lands except for essential public amenities, pending a revision
of the new Structure Plan.
Since
the present Structure Plan is now pending revision, the State should
also ensure the explicit prohibition of any future development on hill
lands except for essential public amenities.
The
State should also stop approving any further applications for excision
of the status of ‘hill lands’ from the Land Conservation Act 1960.
These matters are of great importance
to all citizens of Penang. We also call on the public to support the Sungei Ara
residents in this very critical public interest case.
Today it is Sungei Ara,
tomorrow it could be Paya Terubong, and the next day it might be at your
backyard; hence the need to defend the front line.
Development on sensitive hill
lands of more than 250 feet should not be allowed, as they pose serious
environmental and social impacts for residents in the neighbouring lands such
as soil erosion, landslides and landslips, unstable soils and negative impacts
from blasting works etc. These are the precise concerns of the Sungei Ara
residents that are also faced presently by other residents in Paya Terubong, and
Jesselton Heights.
We laud their courage and spirit,
in spearheading this appeal to the Court of Appeal despite the financial
challenges they are facing.
Their struggle in the
public interest should be supported for a better environment and a better
Penang!
For
those who wish to support the efforts of the Sungei Ara residents, kindly
contact Mr Manuel Nicholas (mobile h/p :012 4899321; email: manuel_nicholas@hotmail.com).
This statement is endorsed
by:
|
Name |
Organisation |
| 1 |
Meenakshi Raman |
Tanjung Bungah Residents Association (TBRA) |
| 2 |
Manuel Nicholas |
Management Corporation Sunrise Garden Condominium, Sungei Ara |
| 3 |
Medalene Sim |
Management Committee Solok Kelicap, Sg. Ara |
| 4 |
Tan Sri Dato Gajaraj Dhanarajan |
Management Corporation of The Cove, Tanjung Bungah |
| 5 |
Dr. Ti Lian Geh |
Taman Sri Rambai /Taman Lau Geok Swee Residents’ Association, Paya Terubong |
| 6 |
Jeffery Ho |
Taman Sri Nibong Residents Association, Bayan Lepas |
| 7 |
Abdul Rahim bin Sultan |
Management Corporation of Desaria Sri Merpati Apartments, Taman Desaria, Sg. Ara |
| 8 |
Ang Sue Khoo |
Pykett Residents’ Committee |
| 9 |
K. Suthakar |
Tanjung Court Residents’ Ad hoc Committee and Joint Residents Associations of Bandar Baru Air Itam Ad hoc Committee |
| 10 |
Henry Loh |
Management Corporation of Diamond Villa, Tanjung Bungah |
| 11 |
Alan Tan |
Management Committee of Lavinia Apartment, Bayan Lepas |
| 12 |
Abdul Razak Bin Osman |
Management Corporation Taman Sri Putera, Taman Desaria, Sg. Ara |
| 13 |
Haji Fadzil Bin Hitam |
Desaria Residents Association, Sg. Ara |
| 14 |
Andy Saw |
Management Corporation Regency Heights Condominium, Taman Desaria, Sg. Ara |
| 15 |
Hor Cheok Weng |
Management Committee of Mewar Apartments, Sungei Nibong |
| 16 |
S. Subbiah |
Residents’ Association of Pantai Molek, Tanjung Tokong |
| 17 |
Datuk Yap Ching Chau |
Residents’ Association of Jesselton, Penang |
| 18 |
Nic Sim |
Management Committee of Melati Apartments, Sungei Nibong |
| 19 |
Roy Lim |
Management Committee of Crystal Court Corporate Park 2, Sungei Nibong |
Several Residents’ Associations and
organisations in Penang have come together in a show of support and solidarity for
the Sungei Ara residents who are appealing the decision of the Penang High
Court, delivered on 29 May 2017. 
