Tanjung Bungah group wants immediate halt to all works as act ’contradicts commitment of state to protect natural heritage’
GEORGE TOWN: Residents of the Tanjung Bungah suburb have demanded answers from the authorities after trees were cleared and access to a public beach was fenced off, an act they say betrays Penang’s commitment to protecting its natural heritage.
More than 60 residents and supporters staged a protest on Saturday along the shoreline known locally as the “Sore Thumb”, next to the One Tanjong condominium developed by Lone Pine Group.
They carried placards reading “Stop Now, No Building on the Beach” and “Beaches are Public”.
The group want an immediate halt to all works on Lot 4658 and the adjoining state land, saying the cordoned area now spans the entire Sore Thumb and public beach, pending consultations with residents and a full review of the project’s environmental and social impacts.
Community representative and Tanjung Bungah resident Oo Huei Ying said the once lush slope that formed the area’s natural green lung had been “stripped bare overnight”, leaving behind “a barren scar fenced off from the very people who had called for its preservation”.
“The people of Tanjung Bungah never asked for a concrete wellness centre or manicured lawns.
They asked for a green lung, not a concrete park, for coastal protection, not coastal destruction,” she said during the protest.
Residents claim the clearing extended beyond Lot 4658 into adjoining state land that was once home to wildlife such as sea otters, dusky leaf monkeys and white-bellied sea eagles.
They questioned who authorised the fencing of the public shoreline, why trees were cut down “in the name of creating a park”, and whether the beach had effectively been turned into private property.
“This latest act of environmental erasure raises serious questions about transparency, accountability and the true meaning of public interest.
It is a heartbreaking betrayal of Penangites’ trust and their right to enjoy and protect their natural heritage,” Oo added.
Residents also voiced concern over an alleged 6.5m retention wall said to be part of the site plan.
In a letter to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Tanjung Bungah Residents’ Association (TBRA) chairman Zulfikar Abdul Aziz said the project – touted as a “Wellness Centre” – has faced strong objections from residents and NGOs due to its potential impact on local flora and fauna, worsening traffic congestion and destruction of the beach.
“However, the developer has already begun cutting down trees, erecting a barricade wall and blocking public access to areas beyond its land boundary,” he wrote in the letter sighted by theSun.
Zulfikar said there was still no visible signage providing project information, and alleged that construction had begun before all necessary approvals were finalised.
The letter, sent on Oct 17, urged the state government to suspend all site activities pending the outcome of an appeal by One Tanjong to the state appeal board, scheduled for case management on Nov 13.
TBRA said the project contradicted residents’ long-standing request for a natural forested park that preserved the coastal ecosystem instead of replacing it with hard landscaping and commercial amenities.
Zulfikar said TBRA had taken part in a discussion with the developer’s consultant and requested a copy of the social impact assessment report, but it was never shared.
The association had proposed the park adopt a “forest-bathing” theme to preserve nature and support biodiversity.
“Tanjung Bungah’s coastline belongs to the people, not to developers.
What has been lost today cannot be easily replanted tomorrow,” said Oo.
Meanwhile, long-time resident Steve Clayton asked: “Are we going to have (beach) access, or are we going to lose access altogether?”
theSun has reached out to the developer for comment but had not received a response at press time.
