Apply same rules to Penang in project approval, Putrajaya told
Putrajaya has been urged to apply to all states the kind of strict compliance that Penang is subjected to when submitting project proposals with large social impact for approval.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow cited as an example the proposed Kulim International Airport – which he claimed would have a large socioeconomic impact on Penang, as it would be located just 50km away from the Penang International Airport...
Putrajaya has been urged to apply to all states the kind of strict compliance that Penang is subjected to when submitting project proposals with large social impact for approval.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow cited as an example the proposed Kulim International Airport – which he claimed would have a large socioeconomic impact on Penang, as it would be located just 50km away from the Penang International Airport.
Chow said that the federal government should compel the developer to submit social and environmental impact assessment reports before the project is approved.
"We respect Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir coming to Penang to visit me and explain the matter to us, but we feel that whatever strict compliance that is imposed on us when we apply for approval of projects should be imposed on others as well.
"We want to be law abiding, but we hope the federal government will ensure other states adhere to the same compliance, whether it is the state, local government or private entities.
"No two ways about it – if private developers have to comply to certain rules and guidelines, what more a government body, they have to comply to whatever conditions are set by the approving authorities," he said.
Chow, who was attending the launch of the Penang 2030 Seminar on the Social Impact Assessment Manual in Bayan Baru, said the state struggled for two years in the past to obtain approval for the Penang South Reclamation and Penang Transport Master Plan projects.
He believes no approving authority would want to throw "a spanner in the works" if developers complied with requirements and carried out the obligatory social and environmental impact assessments for their projects.
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"We have to be responsible to Mother Earth and come up with an effective mitigation plan in the social impact assessment report, so that the projects will be approved," he added.
The chief minister also noted that he was "entertained" by Penang exco Jagdeep Singh Deo recounting the difficulties faced in getting the two state projects approved by the previous BN administration.
"I am okay with that, though, as I want to ensure we are very safe, and that our mitigation plans work.
"But then, without approval, how do we know that our mitigation plans work? It would just be like a discussion on paper.
"So give us the approval, then we can see for sure if our plans work," he said.
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