Bukit Larut – a natural treasure up for sacrifice?
By Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysian Mirror
Is the Bukit Larut cable-car project another environmental disaster that is waiting to happen? Can we afford another white elephant in which the bio-diversity, natural beauty and serenity of this hill station is destroyed? Are we prepared to sacrifice our last hill resort?
The protests of the residents of Taiping and various NGOs about this RM65 million cable-car project linking Taiping to Bukit Larut, have fallen on deaf ears. The project will enable a maximum of 1,000 passengers per hour to be ferried to the top in only 12 minutes. It will have 46 gondolas, each capable of carrying eight people.
The director of the Department of Environment (DOE), Abu Hassan Mohd. Isa said that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report was not required: “The project does not come under the provisions of conditions where an EIA is required prior to approval.”
Maybe we should ask, “Under what conditions is an EIA required?” Or have the goal posts been moved again – a common occurrence when projects with maximum environmental impact are bulldozed by the government?
On three occasions, the state government tried to force their will onto the people. Each time, the residents fought back. Both BN and Pakatan are guilty of neglect.
The modus operandi of our government is to wear us down. The authorities lie low when the protest is at its peak. Then they surreptitiously creep in and resurrect the project once the protests have abated.
Abu Hassan said that the DOE had received a report from the developer, Taiping Cable Car Sdn. Bhd.: “DOE has been strongly assured by the company that the project will not destroy the hill station. There will be minimum work to install the cable car facilities.”
He claimed the developer had insisted there would be no cutting of slopes or felling of trees and stressed that the DOE would hold the developer accountable if it did otherwise.
Few are convinced by this. Did the DOE simply accept the ‘assurance’ of the developer at face-value without scrutinising the report?
Will the DOE make this report public? Has his department listed the possible impact on the environment?
Who was the environmental consultant who carried out the exercise on behalf of the developer? Where did they acquire their base line data and over how long was their assessment done?
Can the public make their representations (after reading the developer’s report), where can they do it and when is the deadline?
This cable car project has the potential to cause irreversible damage to Taiping’s water catchment area. What happens if the project fails to attract the so-called development? What happens if the rich bio-diversity is lost forever?
The DOE said it would hold the developer accountable if it cut trees and the slopes. So how will it punish the developer? Fine them? What if there is a clause in their contract which prohibits this? Moreover, the public is aware of the track record of the government ‘to make errant developers accountable’. Our faith is not easily restored.
Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill) is our oldest hill-resort. The water catchment area provides water to over 500,000 households. The Matang Mangrove Forest reserve requires water from Bukit Larut, as do local industries.
The first attempt to develop Bukit Larut was when Ramli Ngah Talib proposed a multi-story hotel on the hill and in the Taiping Lake Gardens. The residents opposed these and the Sultan intervened to halt the development.
The second was when Pakatan’s Nga Kor Ming suggested the cable-car project.
In mid 2010, Perak Mentri Besar Zambry revived this project and announced that an “EIA report was not required,” because “the project did not involve major development”. Were environmentalists or conservationists consulted?
