GEORGE TOWN – The prolonged delay by the Penang Island City Council in formulating a local plan has sparked frustration among local activists and civil society groups. They have been advocating for its tabling, warning that the absence of such a plan paves the way for unregulated developments on the island.
A local plan is crucial as it determines the density of future developments and specifies the types of projects permitted in each area for the coming decade. Since Pakatan Rakyat came into power in 2008, Penang Island has never had a local plan gazetted.
In October 2022, the city council released a draft of the Penang Island Local Plan 2030 for public consultation, which was prepared by a consultant based in Kuala Lumpur. However, the draft was met with criticism from civil society groups due to numerous errors, including maps that inaccurately depicted school buildings as being located in the sea and the omission of George Town’s heritage buildings from the plan.
As a result, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow scrapped the draft in July last year and tasked the city council with revising it, reportedly allowing “a year or two” for the completion. When contacted by Scoop, the city council stated that it is still in the process of appointing a consultant to draft the new local plan, now named the Penang Island Local Plan 2035.
Geospatial expert and environmentalist Datin Kam Suan Pheng expressed concern over the ongoing delay, noting that the lack of a gazetted local plan for the whole of Penang Island creates a “void” where planning permissions are granted without a current legally binding planning document at a detailed level.
“It’s too bad that the 2030 local plan was so unprofessionally done that it had to be put back to the drawing board. But the delay to even come out with a replacement local plan has already been too long.
“Still, (there is) no trace of whether they are getting a consultant. And then after they get the consultant, how long is it going to take before they come up with the draft local plan again?,” she told Scoop when contacted.
Zulfikar Ali Abdul Aziz, secretary of the Penang Public Transport Users Association (Petua), echoed these concerns, stating that the absence of a local plan effectively gives the state government “a free hand” in determining land zoning without the restrictions that a gazetted plan would impose for the next five to ten years.
“But without a local plan, the state government doesn’t have to consult the public as much (on land developments). With just the executive council, they can make decisions that significantly impact the people without genuinely consulting them, which is worrying,” Zulfikar told Scoop.
Call for more public consultations on the 2035 plan
Lim Mah Hui of Penang Forum, a coalition of local NGOs, called on the city council to commit to extensive public consultations for the Penang Island Local Plan 2035. He urged the city council to hold town hall meetings across local neighbourhoods in both the Northeast and Southwest districts.
“The local government has the organisational structures in place. They should involve the MPKK, city councillors, state assemblymen, the city council staff, and consultants in organising town hall meetings.”
“They must ensure that these sessions are widely accessible and genuinely seek public opinion, especially if they plan to introduce major developments such as highways or large buildings near residential areas.”
“Public participation is mandated under the Local Government Act and the Town and Country Planning Act,” Lim said in an interview with Scoop.
Lim, a former banker and the city council city councillor, criticised the city council’s previous public participation efforts for the earlier draft plan, which involved displays at only three locations on the island – Syed Al-Attas Mansion in Lebuh Armenia, Makerspace in Balik Pulau, and Komtar – during working hours, making it inaccessible for many ratepayers.
He added that the public participation process was “superficial, perfunctory, and merely to tick a bureaucratic box.” – September 2, 2024