Penang state exco member Chow Kon Yeow today lambasted an MCA leader for criticising the state government for allowing the mushrooming of telecommunication structures.

NONE Chow ( left ), who is also Tanjung MP, said Bukit Gelugor BN coordinator Koay Kar Huah, must either be “suffering from a loss of memory or he is just another a big liar”.

“For the record, when Pakatan Rakyat took over in 2008, there were already 849 telecommunication (telco) structures in the state and 90 percent of them were illegal,”  said Chow.

Chow was castigating Koay, a former state exco member, who recently alleged that before the last general election, Penang did not have to face problems such as illegal telco structures as only council-approved ones were allowed to be erected.

Koay further alleged that since Pakatan took over the state, there seemed to be no control over the mushrooming of illegal structures.   

Chow, who is Penang DAP chairperson, explained that the state had recognised the problem, and initiated a Moratorium Task Force to resolve the issue of the illegal structures.

He added that there was definitely no truth to Koay’s allegations.

“The problem actually started way before Pakatan took over Penang,” he said.

“The DAP was opposing the structures because the local councils and state government then had not taken concrete action and had allowed the problem to escalate,” he added.

Stringent approval process

Chow said the party continued to oppose illegal towers, while the state government and local councils have taken strong action to ensure telco companies complied with all the conditions before structures could be erected or approved under the moratorium phase.

“At the end of the moratorium on Dec 31 last year, there was a reduction of 85 structures from the original 849, a drop of 10 percent,” he said.

“The approval process is so stringent that it was necessary for the chief executive officers of major telco companies such as Celcom, DiGi, Maxis and U mobile to make a joint representation to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on March 17,” he added.

Chow said the state has taken a precautionary approach as the industry has not been able to allay fears of the health impact of electromagnetic fields.

He added that the state wanted the industry to work together to secure new technology for telecommunication services so that electromagnetic field levels could be acceptable and comply with international health standards.