Master plan needed to care for old trees

There is an urgent need to have a more aggressive master plan to care for these trees and scheduled pruning, said Pulau Tikus Assemblyman Joshua Woo Sze Zeng

“My service centre team has been working closely with MBPP to monitor and prune trees, especially those large ones along the four ‘green corridors’ in Pulau Tikus: Jalan Kelawai, Jalan Burma, Jalan Macalister, and Jalan Utama,” he said via a statement.

“If there is a need to clear some of these dangerous trees, then the MBPP should not hesitate to do so to ensure that these public areas and roads are safe for users. Our priority is the lives of Penangites,” he claimed.

He was responding to an incident earlier today, where a large tree uprooted and toppled along Macalister Road, causing damage to vehicles and the concrete fence of a building.

“There are hundreds of these very old and large trees in these areas compared to other places.

“Trees are important to a city’s landscape and act as ‘green lung’ in urban settings,” he added in the same statement.

He stated that similar incidents happened on 26 April.

On 26 April a tree fell and damaged four cars at Lebuh Raya Scott, Pulau Tikus.

“Fortunately, no one was hurt on the 26 April’s and today’s incidents,” he said, highlighting the necessity to address the safety risks posed by large trees, particularly amidst the recent bad weather conditions.

On 7 May, a tree fell in Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur injuring two individuals and crushed 17 vehicles.