Firstly, let me make one thing clear: I am a Tanjung Bungah resident. I strongly oppose the stance of Tanjung Bungah Residents’ Association (TBRA) in various issues, and I am supportive of Tanjung Bungah being classified as a Primary Development Corridor, provided that proper planning, including Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) is done on subsequent projects.

Now that I have that quasi-disclaimer out of the way, time for some background: Originally Tanjung Bungah was zoned as a Secondary Development Corridor in the Penang State Structure Plan. After a lot of SNAFU which I do not want to get into, the area is now classified, uncertain and debatable, in the Primary Development Corridor. In Primary Corridor, the density limit is 30 units/acre, as opposed to 15 unit/acre in Secondary Corridor.

Now my story/rant starts. A few days ago, I saw this on the Chinese daily:

Essentially, some of the residents from The Cove want to sue the state government in regards to a project on the neighbouring lot, because the project was approved at a density limit of 30 units/acre. That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard, primarily because it shows how hypocritical one can be.

The Cove is like the quintessential high-density high-class condominium that is sprouting in Tanjung Bungah. Regardless of the actual density, the project looked quite cramped, probably because it is. It has 146 units built on 4 blocks. I know, because I checked. In order for it to be under the 15 units/acre limit, the land it was built on has to be 9.73 acre (146 ÷ 15 ≈ 9.73). In reality, the land area is around 5 acre. I know, because I checked. Taken together, that means the density of The Cove is more than 29 units/acre (146 ÷ 5.006 ≈ 29.165). As such, The Cove is just following the trend of the many apartments before it, such as Sri Golden Bay, which also has a density of higher than 15 units/acre.

My point is, the residents of The Cove are staying in a residential area with a density of 29 units/acre. They are the ones who benefited from the relatively cheap price of the condominium because the developer do not need to adhere to any 15 units/acre density limit in the first place. For them to oppose a neighbouring project because it would have a density more than of 15 units/acre, despite the fact that The Cove itself has a density so close to the new density limit (30 units/acre) the government is inclined towards,  is highly ironic and extremely hypocritical.

Equally so is the aforementioned TBRA, who in this news indicated that they are supportive of the action by the residents of The Cove – the same TBRA who not so long ago were highly critical of The Cove, calling it an “eyesore”. I don’t know – perhaps they have got used to the “eyesore” after years of seeing it.

Tags: Hypocrite, Penang