A BN elected representative admitted today that the great floods on Nov 4 and 5 which claimed seven lives in Penang were an "act of God".

Muhammad Farid Saad (BN-Pulau Betong) was expressing his disappointment towards Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in the State Legislative Assembly for allegedly continuing to blame others for the floods.

Farid said, "Accept it, it is an act of God, do not blame others.

"The Chief Minister should not blame Kedah for the flow of water from the state, which resulted in a few areas in the northern part of Seberang Perai to be still inundated with water.”

This prompted RSN Rayer (DAP-Seri Delima) to ask, "Are you sure it is an act of God, and not development?"

Farid replied, "Yes, I admit it".

He was referring to Lim who said yesterday that although the water had receded in most areas, some parts of Seberang Perai North and Seberang Perai Central were still being inundated by floods, as there was an overflow of water from Kedah which had resulted in local rivers bursting their banks.

Lim had made the remark when tabling a ministerial statement in the State Legislative Assembly yesterday.

As part of the statement, Lim announced an RM100 million fund dubbed the “Penang Bounce Back” programme to rebuild the state in the wake of the destruction wreaked by heavy rainfall and strong winds.

Farid's view appeared to be at odds with the criticism often levelled by the opposition and NGOs towards the Penang government for allowing overdevelopment, especially on hillslopes.

A wake-up call came when a deadly landslide happened in Tanjung Bungah's hilly terrain on Oct 21, killing 11, prompting civil society groups and residents to call for a moratorium on hillslope development.

It has been learnt that BN assemblypersons are planning to table a motion to call for a freeze on hillslope development, which is expected to cause a ruckus in the state assembly as several backbenchers from the Pakatan Harapan side are most likely to agree with them.