Penang Island City Council (MBPP) member Lim Mah Hui wants the state government to issue a public statement on its hill development policy.

Lim, a vocal member of NGO Penang Forum, also wants the state government to strengthen its monitoring and enforcement capabilities.

On Monday, Penang Forum will launch a 'citizens hill watch' system and cooperate with the state agencies and MBPP to protect forested hills, Lim announced.

"The illegal clearing of forests and hill land by developers and farmers are serious.

"Overbuilding on hill land is threatening sustainable development," Lim said at the MBPP's full council meeting today.

"Penang is supposed to be a cleaner, greener state but the rate we are encroaching upon and cutting into hill land and forests does not support the stated objectives," he added.

Lim was referring to the Forestry Department's latest statistics which show Penang has only 7.4 percent of forested land, of which six percent is protected forest reserves.

He said these hills and forests are affected by serious degradation despite the state's mantra being "cleaner and greener Penang".

Lim has earned the ire of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, DAP leaders and his fellow MBPP councillors for speaking up against sea reclamation and threats to George Town's heritage status posed by the state's RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan.

"We are witnessing hills and trees being cut wantonly and ugly bald patches appearing everywhere like scars on a face, " Lim said, as he presented slides on the threat to Penang's green lung.

He pointed to the most infamous case of "Botak Hill" in Bukit Gambiar, where bold patches of the hills are visible up to today, and can be seen by all who drive into the island via the Penang bridge.

The developer responsible for the illegal hill clearing of Botak Hill has been slapped with a RM30,000 fine although the state government has appealed for a higher punishment.

"We all know the disaster in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, due to overbuilding and hill land clearing.

"We should learn lessons from it and prevent such (a thing) happening in Penang," Lim said.

"Such a picture is worth a thousand words."