Rayer (white shirt) planting a Garcinia subelliptica tree at the park in Lorong Delima 9, Island Glades.
SOME 50 residents of Island Glades in George Town, Penang, turned up at the neighbourhood park in Lorong Delima 9 to voice their unhappiness to Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer over the removal of shrubs and bamboo plants in the park.
Resident C.B Ooi, 70, said the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) had ‘robbed’ them of a shaded place to mingle.
“Take a look now. The place is very hot after the bamboo plants were removed.
“The council should have trimmed the plants, instead of removing them totally,” he said at the park yesterday.
Ooi also took the Island Glades Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) to task, urging them to be the bridge between the residents and the authorities.
Another senior resident, who declined to be named, said the council should have actively engaged the people.
“Engaging the community is important since the council is into community governance,” she said.
Rayer explained that the bamboo plants found all over the park were not grown by the council.
“Some bamboo plants were planted at the fringes of the badminton court and they had overgrown in the area.
“If we just trim the bamboo shoots, the sharp edges would pose a danger to visitors.
“We also received complaints from other residents who asked us to remove the bamboo plants for safety reasons,” he said.
Rayer apologised and agreed that the bamboo plants had not been properly maintained earlier.
The plight of the residents was highlighted by The Star on July 5. They had started a petition with 170 signatures and submitted it to the Chief Minister’s office on June 27.
Rayer’s personal assistant James Pasqual said he met with some residents on May 19 to explain MBPP’s decision to remove the bamboo plants at the park.
The plants were removed in stages starting early May, on May 29 and June 20. Some were also removed yesterday.
When contacted, retiree P. Ramakrishnan, 79, said many residents were unaware of the meeting with Pasqual on May 19.
“They should have conducted a proper dialogue session. Many of us felt that the bamboo plants were not interfering with the park visitors. They could have just pruned the shoots at the top,” he said.
MBPP Management Services director Mohamed Akbar Mustapha reiterated that the choice of trees planted at parks is important.
“Bamboo plants are not suitable because they need a lot of maintenance,” he said.
Meanwhile, 10 Garcinia subelliptica trees were planted at the park to replace the bamboo plants yesterday.
