Adopt a green lung areas
By CHRISTINA CHIN
TO encourage the corporate sector to help beautify Penang, companies will be allowed to advertise their company names in their respective “adopted areas”.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the companies would be allowed to advertise in return for sponsorship and corporate adoption programmes.

“The move has proven to be an effective and efficient way to reduce local councils’ landscaping and beautification cost,” he said.

Chow said it was not feasible to plant flowers that incur huge monthly maintenance cost.

Green haven: Cheap and easy to maintain plants and trees will be planted at spots like Gurney Drive.

“What we need are more trees and plants that are cheaper to plant,” he said in an interview.

When contacted, Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohd Idris said the state should rethink the private sponsorship and corporate adoption programmes.

“It does not cost a lot to ‘green up’ Penang. In 1963, I was in the local council and we initiated a tree-planting campaign that was very successful.

“We do not need the private sector because it does not cost much to plant trees. Until today, the trees still stand – look at the Peel Avenue, Jalan Masjid Ne-geri and Macalister Road stretches. The local councils should also consider bougainvillea shrubs and other creepers that are cheap, pretty and easy to maintain,” he said, adding that beautification should be the “people’s project”.

“Get everyone involved. Get students to plant trees outside their school compounds, encou-rage homeowners to plant trees outside their gardens and urge corporations to do the same in their surroundings.

“When it comes to planting trees, everyone should be allowed to do so even if it is on state land. So long as the trees and plants do not obstruct traffic and pose a danger to road users, it should be allowed,” he said.

Idris also warned that allowing the private sector to advertise in return for sponsorship could lead to “ugly, obstructive and distracting advertisements” mushrooming everywhere.