The public hearing on the Penang Botanic Gardens-Special Area Plan (PBG-SAP) will be held in January next year, said the curator of the 130-year-old Gardens, Saw Leng Guan.

In a statement, Saw said the PBG-SAP was presented and amended last year, but due to a number of concerns expressed by consultants of the Gardens, it was not gazetted.

"In February this year, the State Planning Committee decided to have a second review of the draft by the new consultant and this has now been completed.

"The new draft includes most of the elements of the older version but amendments are made to make the SAP more congruent throughout its chapters to the vision, mission and objectives of Penang Botanic Gardens," said Saw, who served 33 years in the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.

The purpose of the SAP is to identify the best management methods and projects on Penang Hill to strengthen its position among the state’s tourist attractions.

A cable car project is in the pipeline but Saw declined to comment about the matter, saying the draft would be publicised for public feedback in January.

Saw was referring to concerns raised by social reform movement Aliran that in the passing of the enactment to corporatise the Gardens, there is no mention of the PBG-SAP.

Aliran has also asked the Penang government to make public the SAP, in the interest of transparency and accountability.