About 30 environmental activists today held a peaceful rally to urge the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) to ditch their plan to build the 1.8km road widening project along Greenlane to save the roadside trees.

Led by the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), the activists hugged the trees, to show their love for them.

Tourists and locals are fond of the tall, leafy trees, which lined Jalan Masjid Negeri - where the State Mosque is located - and have voiced out their objections to any plans to have the trees uprooted in the past.

During the 30-minute rally, the group held placards carrying the message “Keep the Earth Green in Penang”, “Don’t Neglect the Environment” and “I give you oxygen, what about you?” at the pedestrian walkway opposite the McDonalds outlet in Greenlane,

They also carried posters which screamed “Don’t unroot me!”, “Save me!”, “Don’t Make Us Suffer!” and “Don’t Simply Widen the Road”, as several passing cars honked to show support.

MBPP councillor Lim Mah Hui said it was a futile effort for the council to widen the road.

“We have enough evidence to show that road widening will not solve traffic congestion problem.

“For instance in Beijing, they started by building a ring road and now they already came to the 8th road but still can't solve their traffic problem,” Lim told reporters at the rally site.

“Instead of widening the road, its better to install bicycle lanes and keep the trees."

“Road widening will only help to alleviate the traffic woes for a couple of years, after that it will back to square one,” he lamented.

Lim said he will be raising the issue at the council’s full meeting on Feb 25.

CAP president SM Mohamed Idris said Penang is the most beautiful place in Malaysia, but now it appears as if the state “belonged to developers.”

“The housing density is getting higher, how can people live in such conditions?” he asked.

“When I was a councillor, I also took the position that the local authority has no reason to cut any trees. If the tree is sick, treat it, not unroot or transplant it,” Idris said.

“The people should stand up and fight to protect the greenery of Penang,” he added.

Trees sacrificed just to move cars faster

In a press conference earlier, Idris said MBPP had mentioned that the number of trees to be uproot had already been reduced from to 18 from the initial 33, and it will be reduced further.

Idris said whatever the figure, roadside trees were being sacrificed just to move cars faster.

“Our space, our trees, are being scarified for the car gods. What has happened to the trees which were transplanted in the road widening project of 2012?” he asked.

Idris noted that many changes are underway in Penang, while the fast pace of development and priority given to motor vehicles are destroying the island’s natural charms.

He said with green replaced by concrete jungle, Penang will soon become an “unlivable habitat”.

He urged the Penang government to stay true to their words, and that a green Penang - a phrase often used by officials to promote the state - should be “naturally green”.

“We cannot be silent observers to the wanton destruction of our irreplaceable rich natural heritage in the name of development. We should not give in to crass materialism,” said Idris, as he urged Penangites to speak up to voice their discontent over the matter.