The Consumers Association of Penang has come out in defence of former Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon's decision to scrap the controversial Penang Hill project in 1993.

Its president SM Mohd Idris accused Berjaya Corp chief Vincent Tan and Berjaya Land Bhd CEO Francis Ng of "distorting facts" about the project, which was strongly opposed by the people of the state.

penang consumer association cap mada fertilizer issue 300708 04 Idris ( in white in picture ) said Tan and Ng "did not present the complete and true picture" of the events surrounding the proposed mega development, which became a political issue in the 1990 election.

After the election, the newly-sworn-in state government under Koh met with several NGOs to resolve the dispute.

The group - Friends of Penang Hill, which included CAP and Sahabat Alam Malaysia - voiced their concerns over the project at a meeting with Koh.

"The state government rightly did not give the go-ahead for the project and asked the local authority to prepare a local plan, which was also subject to public review and comments," Idris said in a statement.

"In view of this, it is unfair of Berjaya to criticise Koh for his decision when the previous government acted rightly, following the outcry from Penangites.

'Hope it's not intended to pressure current government'

"We hope that the recent spate of criticisms of the previous state government by these developers, based on distorted facts, is not intended to generate public opinion to pressure the current administration into allowing similar environmentally damaging projects on the hill."

The controversy over Penang Hill resurfaced when business tycoon Tan Kok Ping accused Koh of lying that the project was scrapped due to an unfavourable environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.

Tan, who is Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce president, had earlier asked Koh to quit, saying that he had done nothing for the state during his 18 years as chief minister.

In 1990, the hill, a popular tourist destination, was supposed to be developed by Berjaya Corporation's subsidiary, Bukit Pinang Sdn Bhd.

Idris said a large part of the land area on the hill comprises forested areas and is either in or next to water catchment areas.

A public petition campaign was launched by Friends of Penang Hill and public forums were also held opposing the Berjaya development on the hill.

The massive support for the campaign resulted om the Department of Environment (DOE) inviting Friends of Penang Hill to sit on the panel to review the EIA report, he said.

Idris said the project plans were rejected after the first EIA report and the developer was asked to scale-down the project.

The developer then submitted another proposal, which was allegedly scaled-down, but a further scrutiny by Friends of Penang Hill showed otherwise, which led to the project being rejected again after a second EIA was carried out by the DOE.