Civil group to meet with Guan Eng over hill development issue

GEORGE TOWN (Dec 17): Civil group Penang Forum (PF) will be meeting Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng early next month on the issue of hill development projects in the state.

In a statement early today, PF steering committee said they had agreed to meet in the first week of January after the holiday season.

"PF looks forward to engaging with the CM on this very important subject that concerns many members of the public," the committee said.

Last weekend, PF had criticised the state government over a number of issues, such as illegal hill clearings and the approval of "special projects" on hill land above 76m, during the "Save The Hills of Penang" forum .

Speakers at the forum last Saturday had also lamented that the penalty faced by culprits who illegally cleared hill land was not enough as a deterrent.

On Sunday, Lim had said that the state government would invite the civil group and the speakers at its forum to an open dialogue with him and local government exco Chow Kon Yeow to discuss the "so-called hill developments" they were unhappy about.

He said he was concerned that PF and the speakers at its forum had been "misinformed" by the Barisan Nasional opposition and certain members of the media who were against the Pakatan Harapan administration. -- The Malaysian Insider