IPOH, Feb 7 ― Some former students of the Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) here are furious with the school board of governors chairman’s claim the school’s 100-year-old tree has a good chance of being relocated safely.
Dr Ting Cheh Sing had told Malay Mail the iconic rain tree which was topped last year has a good chance of surviving the relocation following an arborist’s report.
Alumna Linda Hanim Mustaffa said that the key findings in the report from the Forest Research Institute Malaysia and Raintree Arborist Sdn Bhd, which was hired by both the school and the group fighting to save the tree, revealed that earlier actions by the school to relocate the century-old rain tree were against proper guidelines for tree relocation.
“Topping the tree, severance of major tap roots and exposed or damaged tree roots sitting in an open trench of water go against proper guidelines of tree relocation,” she told Malay Mail.
Last Friday, Dr Ting told Malay Mail the tree will be relocated to another spot in the school compound, to make way for the building of a multi-purpose hall, after an arborist or tree surgeon’s report gave the tree a good chance of surviving the move.
Dr Ting said trenches had been dug around the tree and some of its roots cut to see whether the tree shows signs of life.
Linda, however, refuted Dr Ting's statement by saying the report concludes that survival rate depends on follow-up rehabilitation and transplant under correct procedures.
“The report clearly states that tree relocation requires careful planning, time and procedures, whereby trenching and monitoring needs to be carried out in stages, hence the tree need constant supervision.
“What actually happened on the site went against ‘good practices.’ To now claim that haphazard cutting of major tap roots carried out was to ascertain signs of life is preposterous.
“The report mentioned that the tree is under stress, which does not qualify it as being healthy. The recommended rehabilitation period before the next assessment is four to six months,” she added.
Last July, Malay Mail reported that some former students did not want the century-old tree to be cut down as it is considered a physical symbol of the institution’s growth over the generations.
A former student Lee Pooi Mun, who is leading the legal team fighting the felling of the tree, said the tree cannot be cut down without approval from the Ipoh city council.
Under Section 35H of the Town and Country Planning Act, no person is allowed to fell a tree with a girth exceeding 0.8m without the written permission of the local planning authority — unless the felling involves a dead or dying tree; is to prevent an imminent danger; or to comply with any written law.
Linda hopes that that the school will be more transparent in conducting the rehabilitation and relocation of the rain tree.
