Since the last general election in 2008, Penang has taken steps to turn itself ‘green’. Not with seeds of envy, but with the planting of more than 87,939 trees from then till now.

The 1st of July marks the day Penang turned green, literally. On a more serious note, it marks the beginning of ‘No Plastic Mondays’ – a campaign launched by the state government in a bid to turn Penang into the country’s first green state.

Green Green Grass of Home

The key to driving Penang towards being an international city with the potential to attract investors as the investment city of choice, is cleanliness. This belief is being carried on the shoulders of the state government as it strives to put decades of waste behind it.

Aimed at transforming Penang into a preferred tourist destination (or rather, revive it to its glory days) the habitat city of choice with sustainable development and infrastructure; steps are being taken to look into the issues plaguing the island. Since the new state government took over in March 2008, various efforts and campaigns have been made to repair the green lungs which are fast becoming brown.

The Penang state government recognises the need to protect, preserve and promote a lush and healthy ecological environment for the future generations. Several programs are launched to contribute towards reducing carbon emissions such as waste-reduction, tree-planting, river cleaning and integrated transportation.

River Deep

One of the priorities is to start with cleaning up Penang’s infamous Sungai Pinang, reputed to be one of the seven most polluted rivers in Malaysia. The state government has engaged the help of Effective Micro-organism (EM) experts in Penang to design a proper system to clean up the river with EM technology.

The past seven months have seen EM technology being proven effective during the cleaning of Sungai Kelian in Tanjung Bungah and Sungai Mas in Batu Ferringhi. Sludge which had accumulated over 20 years has disappeared, the foul odour has been reduced, and fishes are seen swimming in the now clear waters.

Seeing the success of these two rivers, the state government is now looking towards extending the effort to Sungai Juru in the near future. Lim Guan Eng, the Chief Minister of Penang, said in a speech dated 7 August 2009 during the Symposium of EM Technology that: “A clean river system will help Penang become the first green state in Malaysia”. Looking at recent results, that seems very likely.

Bagging for change

July is remembered by Americans for their independence day in the same light as how Malaysians would think of August for Merdeka. However, to Penangites July 2009 marks the beginning of an era of green-ness.

It is the launch of a new ‘No Plastic Mondays’ campaign aimed to consciously reduce the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and shopping malls. Buyers and customers are encouraged to bring their own bags (preferably non-plastic), or be charged 20 sen per plastic bag requested.

Seeing the positive results, the state government is considering extending the campaign to other days of the week in the coming months.

Plastic bags are considered one of the most polluting types of garbage; taking long periods of time to decompose and contributing to the majority of rubbish found in rivers and along the beaches.

By taking active steps to reduce the use of plastic bags, Penang may soon see the long dormant Pearl of the Orient shine once more.

Hill slope De-construction

Despite all the effort placed by the state government to return Penang to its lush green splendour, the rape of hill-slopes continues. In July a mud slide struck Penang on the stretch of road between Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringhi. Last month a section of the road itself collapsed.

Developers are quick to defend their actions, citing the lack of space necessary for property development. The state government maintains the need to continue developing the island to solve the problem of traffic congestion. However such actions will only hinder all that they have done to promote Penang as a green state.

What would be the purpose of having clean rivers and lush greenery if all these are overshadowed by crumbling hills and roads?

The state government has already drawn plans for a transport master-plan. While that is a commendable move, some say mega projects should be halted until the plan is released. With the monsoon season around the corner more landslides and collapsing roads is on the forecast.

Communal Living