Malaysia: Quarry pain for Penang

AUDREY DERMAWAN New Straits Times 10 Aug 15;

GEORGE TOWN: QUARRYING on mainland Penang, carried out by both licensed and unlicensed operators over the past 10 years, is fast changing the landscape of the northern state.

Its once scenic hills have been blasted and stripped bare, with residents predicting that some areas will be flattened soon.

Checks by the New Straits Times showed rampant quarrying in Juru, Bukit Tambun, Batu Kawan, Berapit, Kubang Semang and Simpang Empat.

The naked hills, especially those in Juru, could be seen from the Penang Bridge.

Bald and exposed patches on the hills of Batu Kawan and Bukit Tambun could be seen by motorists using the North-South Expressway.

NST was told that quarry materials (rocks and sand) extracted from the mainland were sent to the island to cater to the rapid development there.

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) concurred, saying the demand was due to rapid development and reclamation projects in the state.

Residents in the affected areas lamented how their lives had changed due to the quarrying.

Md Yusope Din, 68, from Kampung Pengkalan, a stone’s throw from Kampung Masjid, remembered how lush and green the Batu Kawan hill used to be when he was a boy.

“The hill was filled with rubber trees and the surroundings were serene and peaceful. Not anymore.

“With rampant quarrying taking place, I fear the hill may no longer exist in the next five years. Future generations will probably not know of Batu Kawan hill.”

He took a swipe at the DAP-led state government’s “Go Green” campaign, saying it was no longer relevant.

“What green are we talking about? All I see is the hill being stripped naked and laid bare,” he said.

Taman Intan Cempaka Residents Association chairman Pengiran Hartini Yatim, 48, said he had, over the past seven years, witnessed how Batu Kawan hill had been stripped bare.

“At least one third of the hill has been blasted away.

“The hill was supposed to be a land reserve. I even saw the master plan.”

Pengiran said quarrying had tremendous impact on their lives.

He said it had become a routine for residents to clean their houses at least twice a day to remove the thick layer of dust.

“There are also accidents in our neighbourhood involving residents and lorries from the quarry site.

“This is apart from the tremors we feel due to blasting. We used to receive notices, but not anymore.”

Batu Kawan village development and security committee chief Abdul Halim Othman said they had lodged complaints with the authorities, some of which had been acted on.

He said cracks appeared on a number of houses in Kampung Masjid when quarrying went full blast.

Halim said what irked residents was having to withstand the strong stench of cooking tar.

“It can be unbearable and many people have fallen ill as a result. Also, heavy rain will bring mud floods.”

B.S. Koh, 50, said quarrying on Bukit Tambun hill had been going on for the past 10 years.

“There is not much we can do. We just have to withstand the tremors and dust.”

The same fate befell residents in Kampung Tok Kangar, Juru.

Hamidah Yatim, 65, showed NST how her house was slowly tilting due to quarrying on nearby Tok Kangar hill.

During a recent visit to her house, the NST team heard a siren before rock blasting took place.

Hamidah’s house is fewer than 500m from the hill.

She said quarrying was taking place in at least two sites in the neighbourhood.

“It’s like experiencing earthquakes daily. Who can we complain to? Who will pay us for the damages?”

Her neighbour, Norhisham Ahmad, 30, who works in the Health Department, showed the cracks on the walls of his house, which were as wide as an adult’s little finger.

K. Nadarajan, 69, of Jalan Berapit, said quarrying nearby had resulted in huge cracks on his walls.

“I carried out a major repair five years ago but the cracks have resurfaced.

“We have to fork out money. My wife and I are old. We hope the state government can help us.”

In April, the auditor general, in his 2014 report for Penang, noted that the state must be more diligent in assessing royalties for quarrying and step up enforcement against unlicensed operators.

The report recommended that Penang immediately stop the quarrying in Kampung Masjid, Batu Kawan, to ensure the safety of the villagers.

An audit visit to the village on Nov 10 last year showed that it was only 240m from the quarry.

According to a reply from the Land and Mines Office on Jan 27, no permit was issued for quarry activities on the site between 2013 and last year, and no royalties have been collected.

It stated that enforcement against illegal quarrying was unsatisfactory after establishing that four quarry operators had operated without permits, while five were given approval but were yet to be issued permits.

State Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, Seberang Prai Municipal Council president Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif and state Land and Mines Department director Datuk Arifin Awang could not be reached for comment.

NST and Utusan Malaysia had previously been banned by the state government from covering its functions.

‘Speed up quarry rules review’
TAN SIN CHOW, ROYCE TAN, AND LO TERN CHERN The Star 12 Aug 15;

GEORGE TOWN: The state has been urged to speed up the implementation of the latest Penang Quarry Rules to curb rampant quarrying works.

The Seberang Prai Municipal Council said the present rules were not effective enough to monitor quarry sites in the state.

Council secretary Rozali Mohamud called for the latest Penang Quarry Rules, which is under review of the state’s legal adviser, to be expedited.

On June 23, The Star highlighted Kampung Masjid villagers’ grouses against a quarry in Batu Kawan which they claimed had been in operation for more than 10 years and “every year it only gets worse.”

It has been reported that rampant quarrying works were also carried out in Juru, Bukit Tambun, Batu Kawan, Berapit, Kubang Semang and Simpang Empat on the mainland.

The quarry materials (rocks and sand) extracted from the mainland were reportedly sent to the island to cater to the rapid development there.

In his report to state exco member Chow Kon Yeow on the issue, Rozali said quarrying on the above-mentioned sites were approved by the council and had obtained 4C permit required under the National Land Code for quarry licences.

He said the council was monitoring 34 quarry sites on the main-land, of which 13 sites had either ceased or temporarily stopped operation, while 21 others were still active.

“In general, we have been monitoring quarrying activities in terms of road cleanliness leading to the sites, erosion, siltation and drainage,” he said.

He added that the Minerals and Geoscience Department Malaysia would monitor the blasting activities while the surrounding environment concerning noise, dust, air and water quality of quarries would be under the purview of the Department of Environment.

Rozali said there were still fresh applications from developers and landowners to carry out quarrying activities.

Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto, who met with Penang Development Corporation representatives yesterday, declined to comment.

She said she would check with state secretary Datuk Farizan Darus if the district officers (DOs) had concluded anything with him.

Farizan, who could not be reached for comment, had earlier been quoted by an English daily that he would summon the DOs to brief him on the excavations in their districts.

MNS: Stop Penang hills destruction before disaster strikes
AUDREY DERMAWAN New Straits Times 12 Aug 15;

GEORGE TOWN: The state government should tackle the quarrying taking place on hills in the state before disaster strikes.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should be proactive rather than reactive in handling the issue, said Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) immediate past president Professor Dr Maketab Mohamed.

“The Penang government should leave the hills alone since they serve as watersheds for streams and waterfalls.
“As it is, enough destruction has been done to the hills.

“The state should not allow any more destructive resource exploitation, which includes quarrying,” he told the New Straits Times here yesterday.

The NST recently exposed massive quarrying taking place on the mainland in Penang, including Juru, Bukit Tambun, Berapit, Kubang Semang and Simpang Ampat.

The NST expose also led Maketab to call for amendments to the Federal Constitution, saying that states should not have sole discretion over land and water matters.

Citing Indonesia as an example, Maketab said Indonesian President Joko Widodo had imposed a moratorium on logging permits and bauxite mining.

“By amending the constitution, this will allow the Federal Government to have a say on land and water matters in the states.

“This will also allow the Federal Government to impose a moratorium on quarrying in Penang to minimise its impact on the people and the environment.

“But, without such power, the Federal Government’s hands are tied.”

Maketab said if the DAP-led administration was serious in advocating a greener Penang, it should amend the state constitution so that people had a say in the change of land use that affected their neighbourhoods.

Currently, Selangor is the only state that has an enactment that makes it compulsory for local communities to be consulted before any change in land use.

He said the state should quarry for materials in areas with least impact, suggesting neighbouring Perak as an option.

“The thing is, the state and the developer want things easy. It is a Malaysian malaise. They are always thinking about profits and about themselves.

“In a civil society, you have to think about the impact of what you do on the environment and on other people,” he said.

Maketab said the state government was killing the “golden goose” of natural attractions that brought tourists to the state.

“Development in Penang should be complementary to tourism and not in conflict with it.

“If the state values tourism, they should make sure the aesthetics are there; not some botak hills.
“Who wants to take photographs with a raped hill behind (them)?”