Former MCA assemblyperson Lim Chien Aun has questioned the fate of the state's local area plans, saying these have to be gazetted before members of the public can give feedback on the plans.

At a public briefing on the Penang Structure Plan (PSP) 2020, Lim said: "We can talk about the PSP until night time, we can talk about the Transport Master Plan and so on.

"However, the fact remains that Penangites do not know what is the land use in their respective areas because this is not gazetted in our local plans."

He said the same applied to plans for heritage, re-zoning and area density. Without local area plans, development plans cannot be challenged in court.

“If there is no local area plan, according to the 1974 Town and Country Planning Act, what is the point of a PSP?” Lim, who was MCA’s elected representative for Bayan Lepas, said during the briefing on the PSP at Komtar.

“We are working on illegal systems, so please ensure that the local plans are done, or else the whole planning can be chucked into the sea,” he added.

State Town and Country Planning director Mohd Anuar Maidin said local area plans are drawn up by the local authorities - the Penang Island City Council and Seberang Jaya Municipal Council.

“We have not seen any of the plans, though,” Anuar added.

However, former Penang Island Municipal Councillor Lim Kah Cheng said the local authority, during its full council meeting in December 2008, had approved the local area plans.

Kah Cheng, who is a social activist, asked for consultants of the PSP to be present during the briefing but Anuar said today’s briefing merely focused on the Review Report, which was tabled at the SPC meeting on June 6 this year.

State Opposition Leader Jahara Hamid (BN-Teluk Ayer Tawar) expressed her concern over whether the traditional villages would be preserved in the PSP.

“We need a proper policy on this and for it to be stated clearly in the Penang Structure Plan,” Jahara said.

Penang Forum representative and popular blogger Anil Netto asked whether the current policy of not allowing hillslope development above 250 feet would be maintained, to which Anuar said it would remain.

State Gerakan Youth acting chief Jason Loo queried about the density of certain areas, which he discovered were above the 87 units per sq ft.

“Some areas have a density of 169 units psf. Do they really follow your plan?” he asked.

To this, Anuar replied that areas that had transport related developments would be allowed to have a density of more than 87 units psf.

The PSP 2020 is on display from Dec 1 to Jan 31, 2017, in Komtar, the Town Hall at Padang Kota Lama and at the Seberang Perai Municipal Council headquarters.

Penangites will be able to provide feedback on site or through the Penang Town and Country Plan's website, from which the public can download the entire plan.