ENVIRONMENTAL issues may turn the tide against Pakatan Harapan in the Tanjung Bungah state seat in Penang, and a strong lobby group here wants more commitment to stop hillslope projects from the DAP-led state government before going to the polls.

PH is expected to retain its grip on Penang in GE14 after seizing the state from Barisan Nasional in the 2008 elections.

But after two terms and landslides at construction sites, the Tanjung Bungah residents’ association (TBRA) wants candidates to say no to hillslope developments. Land-scarce Penang island has seen new beach and hillside condominium projects spring up in tandem with growth in demand for homes and tourism.

TBRA chairman Meenakshi Raman said the Penang Structure Plan, which discouraged hillslope projects on very steep and sensitive Category IV slopes, must be respected.

“We have been calling on candidates to respect the environment and not support developments in hillslopes. We must learn from recent disasters and landslides which we witnessed last year,” she told Malaysia Decides.

Hillslope projects have always been a critical issue in Tanjung Bungah in the north of the island, which faces the sea and is backed by hills.

On Sunday, a group of residents from the Miami Green Resort condo in Batu Ferringhi held a dialogue to demand a stop to a hillslope project behind their homes. Present were candidates contesting the Tanjung Bungah state seat, including PH’s Zairil Khir Johari and Barisan Nasional’s Teng Chang Yeow. Two more candidates from smaller parties will make the contest a four-cornered fight.

But it remains to be seen whether this issue is big enough to cause Tanjung Bungah voters to switch from PH to BN or to cast protest votes with smaller parties.

A Tanjung Bungah voter, who only wanted to be known as Faye, 41, said she knew of residents’ concerns, although her own home in the Chee Seng area was not directly affected.

“I can understand why some people are unhappy… new projects coming up in their neighbourhoods,” she said.

A Tanjung Tokong resident, who only gave his name as John, said residents objecting against hillslope development have been harping on the fatal incident in Tanjung Bungah last October but failed to realise that it was not a landslide. 

The temporary slope at a condominium construction site on Lorong Lembah Permai 3 in Tanjung Bungah collapsed last year, killing 11 workers.

“They are talking about a small part of the issue. How often do we see landslides? What happened last year was not one. There is a difference between a landslide and a work-site accident.

“To address concerns, you just need to have more stringent regulations and requirements in place that developers must follow when they build on slopes,” he said at the Mount Erskine market where the BN and PH candidates held their walkabout today. – May 1, 2018.