Maverick Tanjung Bungah state assemblyperson Teh Yee Cheu has gone on hunger strike in protest against the environmental disasters which have hit Penang and claimed several lives.

Met at the State Legislative Assembly today, Teh said he will be on hunger strike from 7am to 7pm today.

“I am doing this for the 11 victims who died in the Tanjung Bungah landslide on Oct 21, and the seven who lost their lives during the great flood on Nov 4 and 5,” he told Malaysiakini this morning.

Teh still maintains that hillslope development projects should be brought to a halt, urging the Penang government to “at least freeze them” until a safe solution has been found.

The two-term assemblyperson, whose has made public his disagreements with the party line over issues of the environment and hillslope development, is aiming to draw attention to the two disasters with his latest move.

Following the Oct 21 landslide in Tanjung Bungah, Teh expressed his intention to quit DAP after his term expires, adding that he has had many offers to join other parties.

Although persisting with the stunt, he himself admitted that it may not result in any actual changes to Penang’s development policies.

Teh added that the emergency motion tabled this morning at the State Legislative Assembly on the flood crisis, which called for a review of crisis response standard operating procedures, failed to address the “root cause” of the disasters.

“They have just been talking about climate change, but not the management and planning of how to avert the disasters,” he said.