12
INTERVIEWS VIEWS
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
Allow peaceful
marches
I REFER to “Anti-ISA protesters
don’t represent the majority”
(Letters, Aug 4) and “Because
they did not care?” (Letters,
Aug 5).
How is it that there has nei-
ther been any inconvenience
caused to people celebrating
the National Day celebrations
and parades nor losses to the
business community during
the event which has taken
place in the centre of Kuala
Lumpur, the same routes of the
parades taken by the anti-ISA
protest marchers. One must
not forget that Aug 31 has
even bigger crowds than the
one on Aug 1.
If the police had only not set
up roadblocks, fired tear-gas
and shot water cannons, all the
so-called “inconveniences to
the public” and “losses in busi-
ness” would not have taken
place.
If only the police had issued
a permit for the march, which
in reality was a peaceful one
from the beginning, the above
would not have taken place.
It is as simple as that. There
was no need to deny the issu-
ing of permits, setting up of
roadblocks, using tear-gas and
firing water cannons.
Calls for the abolition of the
Internal Security Act (ISA) have
been around for more than
two decades. Talk of reviewing
the draconian ISA have been
going on all the time. The
powers-that-be have not been
sincere in seriously doing away
with what the majority of the
rakyat want. Instead, they ap-
pear to have been holding on
to what has been a powerful
and useful weapon to achieve
their own ends.
That the ISA might be
amended depending on the
completion of a study by legal
officers and conclusion of
discussions with “interested
groups” is not a clear assur-
ance by the government that
the Act, if retained, will not be
misused. Many such studies
and discussions have already
taken place in the past. Using
the ISA to silence those who
dissent and thereby denying
the citizens of their basic hu-
man rights by detaining them
without trial is inhumane and
morally wrong.
So, is it right to say that the
protesters do not represent
the majority? The majority is
against it but all are unable to
be at the march because of the
police.
Right to Express Dissent
Shah Alam
theSun | THURSDAY AUGUST 6 2009
Resisting urban sprawl
CONSTRAINED by scarce
land on a small island and
a slightly larger mainland,
encouraging, the reality is that
the authorities are being con-
fronted by enormous pressures
greater protection for the state’s natural
environment.
One idea is to plant trees, including
developers and the authorities to house new projects. mangroves, in these areas. Within one
in Penang have for long sought The situation in Penang, single hectare, as many as 3,000 trees can
out new virgin spaces to build where small natural ar- be accommodated. Last year, more than
their projects. eas are being surrounded 100,000 trees were planted in coastal and
The past decade has seen and compressed even further inland areas of Penang.
vast areas of forested hills in by tremendous demands for Interestingly, there are novel ideas
Tanjung Bungah and Batu Fer- TheNutmeg development, certainly offers a to support the greening of the state. For
ringhi being cleared to make good case study of how a gov- example, the state is considering a plan to
way for high-density develop- Verses ernment and society deals with allow countries, which want to gain “car-
ment projects. Green belts in by Himanshu Bhatt such urban sprawl pressures. bon credits” under the Clean Develop-
rural areas around Balik Pulau, Due to its industrialisation ment Mechanism (CDM) outlined by the
Bukit Mertajam and Sungai and economic importance, Kyoto Protocol, to sponsor or undertake
Dua have also been replaced by new Penang has one of the highest population projects in Penang.
townships and commercial projects. densities in the country. But it also has Under the CDM, industrialised coun-
Last year, in a bid to rehabilitate the one of the lowest land availabilities as tries can invest in projects to reduce
state’s dwindling forests against the much of its topography is dominated by pollution in developing regions, instead
massive tide of development pressures, hills and coastal areas. of undertaking such projects in their
the state Forestry Department went on a Alarm bells were rung by NGOs and own countries. By financing a project
drive to conserve whatever little is left of conservation groups in the 1990s, warn- in a foreign land, the developed country
the greenery and natural tracts. ing that the small forested areas in the can then “buy” carbon credits from the
According to the Penang Structure state, already constricted by development government where the project has taken
Plan, released in 2007, at least 30% of the pressures on all sides, were under severe place.
state’s landscape is to be preserved for threat, unless they were accorded official There have been proposals from
conservation of natural heritage. But the protection status. overseas parties who plan to grow man-
development trend has shown otherwise, Less than 10% of the state’s land area groves in Penang, and the state can then
with urbanisation encroaching into natu- today forms a critical water catchment sell the CDM credits earned to the foreign
ral spaces at a rate of about 85% in the base. Even that has been encroached country.
last few years. upon in the past. To protect what is left, Constricted by limited resources, pres-
The state has four forest reserves in the state has had to find ways to conserve sured by the demands of urbanisation
Teluk Bahang, Relau, Bukit Panchor – and even revive in some areas – green- and equipped with few options, Penang’s
and Cheruk Tok Kun with a total area ery and indigenous wildlife. attempt to have its few forests co-existing
of 5,139ha. The state Forestry Department has with mushrooming cities will be one of
Authorities are planning to gazette made known its intention to gazette some the state’s great challenges to watch in
Pulau Jerejak as a forest reserve by the 600ha of coastal land as permanent for- the years to come.
year-end. The 295ha island is being est reserve. It is making plans to accord
planned for preservation and controlled several areas on mainland Seberang
development for eco-tourism projects. Perai and parts of Balik Pulau with Himanshu is theSun’s Penang bureau chief.
While such status accorded may seem natural conservation status to ensure Comments: letters@thesundaily.com.