GEORGE TOWN, Sept 23 —Two former PAS councillors lodged police reports against the Penang state government today, claiming abuse in the approval of infrastructure projects caused the recent inundation in the state.
Penang PAS's land bureau chairman Yacoob Omar and environmental committee chairman Saiful Lizan Mohd Yusof made the claims while speaking to the press outside the Timur Laut district police headquarters.
Yacoob claimed the recent flash floods were caused by ad hoc development and deforestation, and not exceptional weather conditions.
“I have lived in the Sungai Pinang area for more than 50 years. We used to get floods once or twice a year but now it is over 20 major floods a year,” he said.
Yacoob, a former Penang island city councillor, said the state should approve development projects only after ensuring that there was proper drainage infrastructure in place.
He also accused the state of not being serious in addressing the flood issue.
The Penang government said the state had recorded 270mm of rain last Friday, the equivalent to a month's rain and the highest ever in a single day.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said no drainage system could handle that amount of rainfall in over just a few hours.
On the pair's allegations, Lim told Malay Mail that all development projects in the state underwent thorough and fair evaluation.
