A Lesson For Penang

The Camerons Warning

PROF SALLEH BUANG laments the dying of the Cameron Highlands. It's a story of devastating landslides destroying millions of ringgits worth of flower gardens and vegetable farms, forest land being cleared and water catchment areas being destroyed. Every year, with the rains, the catastrophe is repeated. Hundreds of farmers are ruined. Temperatures are rising. Malaysia's top beauty spot that used to attract thousands of tourists is tops no more

Is this not a bitter lesson for Penang?

And yet we learn from The Star's reporter K Suthakar that some persons unknown, 200 metres above the Waterfall Gardens reservoir, have put up a tarpaulin covered resting place cluttered with such rubbish as styrofoam, plastic and paper discards. Mr Suthakar discovered five stoves, cooking oil bottles and, no doubt to his amazement, two discarded fridges (who carted them all the way up the hill?). Cats and dogs were feeding on leftovers.

We have already in a previous issue (No.5, July 2000) commented on the craze for burning and digging on the hill; on the uncontrolled building of huts and resting places in places which are clearly forest reserves. It is to the credit of The Star that it has spotlighted the illegal structure only a few yards away from the Water Authority' security fence and the beautiful Falls.

The State only owns 11% of the land in Penang and of which 10% is hill land. It should look after this precious heritage. What is the point of the campaign to plant trees in town and talking about the "greening target" of 1.2 million trees, when the State's forests which cover 7% of the land are left to the mercy of vandals. # 

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