GEORGE TOWN: The remarks by a senior DAP leader calling for preservation of Penang’s greenery are seen by many as a slap in the face of the DAP-led state government.

Penang MCA chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng said the comments by DAP’s Kepong MP Tan Seng Giaw should not be taken lightly.

“Seng Giaw’s remarks hit the nail on the head of the state government led by his party comrade, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“Of late, it has been reported that Penang has more than 30 ‘balding hills’, seven of which are badly affected.

“Does Lim think such matter will help raise the state’s reputation?” Teik Cheng said in a statement yesterday.

It was earlier reported that Seng Giaw, in a Facebook post on Sunday, stated that the coast of Penang island was changing.

“Balik Pulau is less green. The population of 850,000 require houses and employment.

“The priority is to preserve the forest and greenery,” the DAP veteran wrote.

In 2014, DAP’s Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu alleged that illegal hill clearing was taking place in Bukit Kukus.

Teik Cheng said many people have noticed that more green hills had been cleared to make way for development after the DAP took over the state in 2008.

“The coastlines have been reclaimed and fallen into the hands of developers.

“The overdevelopment has led to various negative effects, including frequent flash floods,” said Teik Cheng.

-The Star-