Tanjung Bungah residents want answers on Sore Thumb park proposal
GEORGE TOWN: Tanjung Bungah residents are questioning the Penang government’s apparent silence on their proposal for a coastal nature park in an area known as Sore Thumb.
Tanjung Bungah Residents Association chairman Zulfikar Abdul Aziz said residents submitted a detailed proposal for the park on Feb 10 but had yet to receive an official decision despite repeated follow-ups.
“We have engaged constructively for more than four years. We are therefore asking for more than just another meeting and another promise,” he said in a statement.
Sore Thumb is located next to a public beach in Tanjung Bungah, a seaside suburb between George Town and Batu Ferringhi. The coastal site is also next to Lot 4658, where approval has been given for a development project.
The Penang government gazetted Sore Thumb as a green lung in 2023, and the developer was required to build a public park before proceeding with the development.
Zulfikar said residents wanted the trees, coastline and beach preserved instead of what they described as a concrete-heavy public park.
They also want the state to say by Sept 20 whether it agrees in principle to their proposal and whether the Sore Thumb area, public beach and coastline will be preserved.
The residents’ association is also seeking a commitment that residents will be involved in the final design, and that no irreversible clearing, major construction or changes to the coastline will take place while the park plan is being finalised.
The dispute dates back to 2022, when residents met state executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari over the proposed development on Lot 4658 and the future of Sore Thumb.
The developer was also required to engage with residents over its plans.
However, the residents claimed they were not personally notified or given a meaningful opportunity to comment before approval was granted last March.
They submitted their own proposal in December, backed by environmental groups, residents’ associations and civil society organisations.
Zulfikar said they wanted the state to make a clear decision and set a timeline for turning the area into a coastal nature park.
He declined to state what the residents would do if their appeal is not entertained.
