TBRA chose this site to plant the 30 trees to commemorate the 11 innocent lives lost in the October 21st tragedy

Penang: 11-11-2017

Press Release TBRA

The Tanjung Bunga Residents’ Association (TBRA) is pleased to be part of the Penang Island City Council’s “Most Amenity Trees Planted in 24 Hours” initiative today.

This project is certainly in line with TBRA’s objective to retain the green image that Tanjung Bunga is famous for. We believe that planting trees will not only deliver health benefits by encouraging more people to walk and cycle in more pleasant surroundings, but also help to reduce air pollution and provide much-needed shade.

TBRA has chosen this site to plant the 30 trees provided by the MBPP, to commemorate the 11 innocent lives lost in the October 21st tragedy.

We have been concerned with over-development of our town over the past few decades and have been urging the State to temper development, and ensure that any new projects are in tandem with retaining a safe and healthy quality of life before approving them.

The recent spate of landslides and sinkholes, particularly in Tanjung Bunga, shows how wanton disregard and disrespect for the environment has dire consequences.

The unprecedented and unsustainable number of construction projects have resulted in deadly environmental degradation. Cutting into hill slopes to make “flat land” for tall buildings, ignoring unstable water tables and flimsy covering up of erosion sites have been criticized by TBRA and landed the association into often contentious and difficult situations.  

We are fearful that the future of our environment and natural resources seems to depend more on economic and political gains rather than on independent and scientific understanding of the value of protecting nature.

TBRA hopes to work closely with the Penang State in the future so that we can have clear guidelines to support both quality development and sound preservation to sustain Tanjung Bunga’s character. We want development for people, not for cars. We want parks, not parking lots. Pedestrian-friendly patterns exist which support healthy lifestyles and do not destroy but enhance neighborhoods.

Perhaps with the planting of all these trees, more residents in Penang will be spurred to understand the value of trees and welcome more of them, instead of cementing up their surroundings. This would certainly help flood mitigation even in a small way. The more trees we plant, the more there will be a regular drainage of rainwater into streams and rivers, the less erosion. Roots and vegetation beneath the trees will help prevent floods and landslides.

We the residents and the State government have a responsibility to future generations to go even greener than GREEN, by respecting our natural resources.

Agnes James

Vice-chair TBRA

(019 4735980)