Review structure and local plans, says DAP rep

As reported in The Malaysian Insider

BY LOOI SUE-CHERN

Published: 14 May 2015 2:38 PM

The Penang government has been urged to review the state’s Structure and Local Plan. – 

The Malaysian Insider pic, May 14, 2015. 

A DAP backbencher told the Penang government to review the state's Structure and Local Plans.

Wong Hon Wai (DAP-Air Itam) said the state had to realise that centralised planning of cities was not good.

He described centrally planned cities like Brasilia in Brazil and administrative capital Putrajaya as "uniform and sterile cities without attraction". 

Wong said for Penang, the state needed to adopt more realistic, flexible and adaptable planning processes to accurately respond to the complexities of urban living.

"We never included murals for our heritage city in the structure plan but the murals are such successful attractions," he told the state legislative assembly this morning while debating the Penang Governor Tun Dr Abdul Rahman Abbas speech.

Wong also said the state needed to put priority on reviewing the Structure Plan, spending more time to look at things at macro view before going into details in micro view.

"We have to be clear on our planning framework. If not, we will be confused by all this planning hierarchy," he said.

He also said the state should look at the current planning law trends in countries like the United Kingdom (UK), where the Structure and Local Plans had been abolished.

He said both had since been replaced with the "Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Documents".

Wong also cited how Singapore had a "concept plan" – a broad, long-term, island-wide conceptual plan without details on zoming or plot ratio – that was reviewed every 10 years.

"Proposals from the plan is then converted into a master plan and land use plan reviewed every five years."

Meanwhile, Wong also proposed to the state government to look into several high-profile cases in the state shariah court last year involving non-Muslims.

He cited two cases – a Catholic Indonesian woman named Halimah, who was charged with khalwat (close proximity) and Teoh Cheng Cheng, who died a Buddhist but the state religious department mistook her for a Muslim.

"We hope the state Islamic Department officials, prosecuting officers and judicial officers will take note that the Shariah court only has jurisdiction on Muslims," he said. – May 14, 2015.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/citynews/georgetown/article/relook-structure-and-local-plans-says-dap-rep/relook-structure-and-local-plans-says-dap-rep