THE Department of Environment (DoE) did not request an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the affordable apartment project in Tanjung Bungah that was hit by a landslide last Saturday, the Penang government said.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said if an EIA report had been requested, the state would have complied with it, regardless whether it was for or against the development.

“We are a law-abiding state. If there was an EIA, we would have followed it and complied with the law. In this case, there was no request for an EIA. Let us be clear there. 

“The Penang Island City Council also followed all regulations and requirements (in relation to the project),” he told a press conference in Komtar today.

The landslide that hit the construction site on Lorong Lembah Permai 3 last Saturday morning claimed the lives of 10 foreign workers and one Malaysian site supervisor. 

It took rescue teams three days to recover all the bodies from the site located below a hill. The last two bodies were found yesterday morning.

On Sunday night, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in a statement that the DoE had rejected developer Taman Sri Bunga Sdn Bhd’s application for a planning permission in January 2015 because it was too close to a permanent quarry.

The ministry blamed the state for its “lack of oversight” of the project and questioned why it did not interfere in the development, where construction had begun.

Since the incident, the Pakatan Harapan state government has faced criticisms and attacks from civil society groups and residents’ associations that have objected to developments on hill land. 

Some have gone as far as warning the DAP-led government that it risked losing support in the coming election if it did not listen to the people’s concerns about developmental issues, namely those affecting Penang’s hills, which are a sensitive matter to many local civil society organisations.

Penang local government exco Chow Kon Yeow said the DoE also did not have power to decide on planning permission applications, as that is under the purview of local councils.

He also said DoE’s only objection against the proposed high-rise project at the site was its proximity to a permanent quarry.

Chow said the department’s concern was the lack of a 500m buffer zone between the apartment site and the quarry, but the actual distance between the construction site and the quarry blasting point was even further, at 714.5m.

“The DoE had no objections against two earlier projects in the area that are closer to the quarry, being within the required 500m distance.

“We also want to stress that the Minerals and Geosciences Department had no objections to the project. This is the department that has expertise in the geological area, soil compaction and other matters.

“The DoE deals with matters like construction site distance, sound and dust pollution but not technical matters, like the Minerals and Geosciences Department,” he said.

Chow also reiterated that the apartment project was approved as the site was on flat land, not on hill land, as claimed by the state government’s detractors.

In Penang, development is banned on hill land 76m above sea level and with slopes of 25 degrees.

The land where the landslide hit was only 18m to 40m above sea level and with a slope less than 20 degrees.

“The local council only approved the apartment project after considering the reviews of various internal and external technical departments,” he said.

Chow also said that the accident was probably caused by a lack of technical management or negligence, adding that a police report had been lodged yesterday to enable the police to investigate the incident. – October 24, 2017.