PENANG’S hot-button topics – flash floods and hillslope development – are expected to be fiercely debated in the state legislative assembly sitting today.

State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow is to table an emergency motion on Penang’s latest flash flood, which began with heavy rain and strong winds on Saturday afternoon, and resulted in seven deaths and thousands evacuated yesterday. 

State lawmakers were already in the midst of discussing flood and development issues last week when Chow, who is charge of local government and flood mitigation, told the legislature that Penang has had a total of 119 flash floods between 2013 and last month.

This works out to a minimum of 20 incidents each year – 22 flash floods in 2013, 2014 (20), 2015 (26), 2016 (30) and as at October 15 (21).

On October 21, a landslide at a construction site near a quarry killed 11 workers.

Chow yesterday said the amount of rainfall triggered the weekend’s floods was 315mm, the highest in state history. He admitted that the state’s drainage systems, both natural and engineered, could not cope with the deluge.

Penang has committed to 10 flood-mitigation projects worth RM300 million starting in the middle of this year.

The frequency of flash floods over the years, however, has led public interest groups in Penang to warn that things will only worsen.

They said climate change will worsen weather patterns and yesterday revived their demands for more holistic planning and a stop to hillslope development, calling the state’s urban planning “short-sighted and patchy” and lacking in flood resilience.

The Tanjung Bungah residents’ association (TBRA) said Penangites have been dealing with floods in low-lying areas and now facing new flood areas following developments on and near hillslopes.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) raised concerns about river siltation and overdevelopment that caused recurring flash floods. Both said Penang should cease all works at river reserves and near hilly land or slopes, even those below 76m above sea level, with approved projects put on hold.

The state could no longer be on the defensive, they said.

“The state has to recognise we are in a state of crisis,” the groups said, calling for more funds to repair damaged hillslopes and rivers, conduct better slope monitoring, and ensure developers take more preventive measures.

Floods and development

Flash floods, however, have become political fodder with the Pakatan Harapan state administration and Barisan Nasional boasting how much each has done to tackle floods.

After floods hit Penang following extraordinary rainfall caused by Typhoon Doksuri on September 15, BN said RM2.6 billion was allocated under the 9th to 11th Malaysia Plans for flood mitigation since 2006.

The Penang government then said BN had not spent that much – only RM443 million of the amended allocation of RM461 million under the three Malaysia Plans.

Chow said BN’s actual spending showed that many flood-mitigation projects in Penang were not fully able to handle flash floods.

He said the state had set aside its own funds for local authorities to implement flood-mitigation projects around the state.

The landslide at the Tanjung Bungah construction site near a hill which killed 11 workers on October 21, sparked another outcry about developments on hillslopes, with residents’ associations and other organisations stressing the link between overdevelopment and disasters.

Following the severity of the overnight heavy rain this past weekend and the strong winds that came with it, the matter has become more urgent.

Yan Lee, legal adviser of Citizens Awareness Chant Group (Chant), said the state government should not wait for the federal government to release funds to Penang for flood-mitigation projects.

He said the state had collected a lot of money from the increased development charges imposed on developers.

It was reported in 2015 that development charges for housing were increased by 300% from RM5 to RM15 per sq ft, and from RM7 to RM21 per sq ft for commercial projects. 

“I heard they collected a lot of money from development charges. Use that money for flood mitigation. Why wait for the federal government? Just get it done first for the sake of the people,” Lee said. –  November 6, 2017.