Explore Bukit Jambul Hiking Trails in Penang
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Embark on an adventurous journey through the Bukit Jambul hill in Penang. Discover popular Bukit Jambul Hiking Trails in Penang
Embark on an adventurous journey through the Bukit Jambul hill in Penang. Discover popular hiking trails with stunning views from the top.
Participants taking on the uphill challenge of climbing Iconic Hill during “Climb To Change A Life” hiking event in Paya Terubong, Penang. (July 20, 2025) — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star.
GEORGE TOWN: Some came in wheelchairs, some used walking aids and some could only feel their way ahead.
But with determination and some help, about 60 differently-abled individuals made it to the top of Iconic Hill in Paya Terubong yesterday.
From the peak, which is high as a 73-storey tower, they watched the iconic Komtar tower, both bridges, Penang Hill, the Bayan Lepas industrial zone and even the shores of Kedah bathed in sunrise.
Among the climbers was Serena Yeoh Jing Han, 10, who lives with cerebral palsy.
Born with the condition, Yeoh did not learn to walk until she was five.
Yesterday, she pushed her limits by walking all the way up, one step at a time.
“She got up from bed immediately this morning (yesterday), excited and ready. She is not used to walking without support, but she was determined to finish the hike, and she did,” said her mother, Teh Mong Ling, 46.
Three-year-old Syed Aydan Mateen Syed Mustaqim, also got out of his stroller to complete the hike.
His father, Syed Mustaqim Syed Zainol Abidin, 39, smiled as he recalled the journey with his son, who lives with cerebral palsy.
“Usually, we only bring him to the playground. But today, we saw something different in him.
“His curiosity lit up, he was learning from everything he saw and felt,” he said.
Courage in motion: (Top) Participants taking on the uphill challenge of climbing Iconic Hill during ‘Climb to Change a Life’ hiking event in Paya Terubong, Penang. (Inset) Zy Kher and his father making their way up the hill. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
From toddlers to teens, the event drew people from all walks of life.
S. Puvarasan, 19, lost his sight to eye cancer when he was only one-year-old.
“I do not remember what the world looks like. But I could feel the sunshine, hear the laughter and breathe in the fresh air.
“This moment meant everything. It showed me that we’re not alone and we can lift each other up,” he said.
Themed “Climb to Change a Life”, the event was organised by Pertubuhan Hui Yin Seh, a Buddhist association, with the support of some 600 volunteers.
Hui Yin Seh chairman Khiah Hock Leong said the organisation wanted the differently-abled community to feel the joy of nature.
“But more than that, we want society to better understand their needs and learn to appreciate life a little more deeply,” he said.
Paralympic swimmer Zy Kher Lee, 18, also took part in the event, which was co-organised with his Zy Movement Foundation.
Zy Kher, who has prosthetic legs, walked to the very top with his father Walter Lee.
“Many children with mobility challenges rarely get a chance to enjoy hills or nature. Even climbing a small hill with friends can be life-changing.
“It’s a learning journey for them, and for everyone involved,” said Walter, 60.
Krisana Lalai, 56, from Bangkok, Thailand, also turned up to support the cause.
He founded the Friendly Design For All Foundation, a human rights organisation focused on promoting equal rights to accessibility, particularly for people with disabilities.
Paralysed from the waist down after an accident at 29, Krisana said he was moved by everyone’s spirit.
“This activity brings compassionate hearts together. It creates something meaningful, not just for those with disabilities, but for the families and friends who support them.
“It sends a strong message of unity and inclusion,” he said.
Penang youth and sports committee chairman Daniel Gooi lauded the initiative and reaffirmed the state’s commitment to inclusivity.
“This event reminds us that no one should be left behind,” he said on the sidelines of the event.
“Since 2016, our Accessibility Action Group has worked to make Penang more friendly to those with physical challenges.
“We’re not done, but we’re on the right path,” he said.
Besides the hike, participants also joined a series of telematch games and performances at the hilltop.
We’re a country with the 10th highest number of landslides in the world. Heavy rainfall and rugged topography are the reasons – but these are secondary. The main cause is man-made.
https://youtu.be/GeuT4KrdpZI
Malaysia among countries especially prone to landslides
Malaysia sits among the top 10 countries that had a high number of landslides over the past decade.
According to data from the US National Aeronautics Space Administration (Nasa), Malaysia had 171 landslides between 2007 and March 2016, making the country ranked the 10th highest in frequency of landslides.
Ranked first is the United States (2,992), followed by India (1,265) and China (426).
Titled the Global Landslide Catalog (GLC), the one-of-its-kind dataset was compiled based on online and media reports, and scientific journals since 2007.
The Star analysed the dataset and found that the number of landslides have been increasing in Malaysia, almost with each year, reaching a peak of 33 occurrences in 2014.
On average, in the past 10 years, Malaysia experienced 18.5 landslides annually.
The high number of landslides means that Malaysia ranked 5th for landslides per square kilometre among countries that have a land area greater than 100,000sq km.
Nepal is the country with the highest number of landslides per square kilometre, followed by the Philippines, Britain and Guatemala.
Most of Malaysia’s landslides occur between October and January, which coincides with the months with the highest rainfall. This is according to data on average monthly rainfall between 1991 and 2015 from the World Bank.
Sabah leads with the most number of landslides (42), followed by Kuala Lumpur (26), Sarawak (25), Selangor (22) and Penang (14).
Latitude and longitude data point towards certain areas that landslides commonly occur. These include Ranau in Sabah, Ringlet in Cameron Highlands, Bukit Antarabangsa in Selangor and Tanjung Bungah in Penang.
Nasa’s satellite view showed that most landslide occurrences in Malaysia are packed around the peninsula’s west coast, and Sabah and Sarawak.
Hardly any red dots could be seen in the Kalimantan region, south of Sabah and Sarawak, which could indicate that the landslides are caused by over-development.
Based on Nasa’s GLC website, since 2007, it has recorded some 10,000 landslides around the world, leading to more than 20,000 deaths, mostly in South-East Asia.
Data on Malaysia showed that most landslide fatalities are in Kuala Lumpur (18), followed by Pahang (17) and Selangor (eight).
The GLC project, first published in 2010, was to provide scientists with a dataset to analyse how, why and where landslides are likely to occur.
It remains the largest publicly available repository of global landslides.
According to the Meteorological Department, the country will be experiencing the northeast monsoon until the end of March, with heavy rains forecast along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, eastern Johor and Pahang.
A higher than average rainfall level of between 250mm and 350mm is also forecast for certain places in Sabah such as Kudat and Sandakan. In Sarawak, Kuching, Samarahan, Bintulu and Kapit are forecast to receive an average rainfall level that exceeds 500mm.
'Main cause is man-made'
Malaysia’s rugged topography and high rainfall coupled with human activities are behind the country being among the top 10 countries with the most number of landslides.
Institute of Geology spokesman Ng Chak Soon said Nasa’s data was correct.
“This is due to a combination of natural factors and human activities. Natural factors comprise periods of high rainfall and rugged topography while human activities relate to the cutting of slopes,” he said in an interview.
Asked if the high frequency could also be due to the type of soil in Malaysia, Ng said this was true only for Sabah such as in Ranau.
“Sabahan soil seems to have a high percentage of expandable clay which absorbs more water and expands more when wet. It shrinks when dry,” he said, adding that earthquakes were also a new factor in the state.
Not a country with typhoon or volcanic eruptions, Ng said the country’s only threat came from landslides.
“And, this is mostly man-made.
“Practically every major landslide in this country is linked to engineering works where slopes have been cut or built or filled with material,” he said.
To a question whether Malaysia had to change its type of development work such as slope cutting to reduce landslides, Ng said: “Apart from the coastal plains, most of our country is hilly.
“That means slope cutting is inevitable.”
He said there was a lack of in-depth understanding of the underlying factors behind landslides among “experts” in the country.
Whenever a slope failed as part of engineering works, he said it was engineers who looked into the causes of failures or what could have been overlooked, overestimated or underestimated in their calculations.
“It is unfortunate that most of these reports (into landslides) are not freely available for public scrutiny,” said Ng, adding that this made it difficult to identify the causes and to prevent similar mistakes from recurring.
He also claimed there was a lack of appropriate geological input in the study into the causes of landslides.
In many countries landslides come under the ambit of their geological survey departments.
“Malaysia is the exception where the Geoscience and Minerals Department is not playing this key role and there is a very good reason for this,” said Ng.
“Landslide as a geological phenomenon is a topic under engineering geology which is itself a branch of geology.
“Landslides began to be considered a problem only after the collapse of the Highland Towers in 1993.
“So, it is relatively new in Malaysia.
“To really have a better understanding of why slopes fail, we have to get the geologists involved,” he said.
Penang Apartment dwellers live in fear
Cause for concern: A view of the construction site where the paired road project is being built in Paya Terubong.
GEORGE TOWN: For the first time in the 10 years that he has stayed in his apartment near the Bukit Kukus paired road project, 62-year-old S. Santhara is worried.
That was where nine people died due to a landslide last month.
The retired fireman never had to worry about landslides because the hills behind his apartment in Paya Terubong were covered with trees.
“We knew the hills facing our block would not crumble as the trees held down the soil,” he said.
That was before the hills were cleared for the construction of the paired road project.
“As they started to clear the hills near my home last year, I worried about the stability of the slopes and whether there would be a landslide.
“Then, the Tanjung Bungah landslide occurred in October 2017 and I fear this place could be next,” he said.
On Oct 19, the landslide at the construction site for the paired road hit 12 containers that housed construction workers.
Besides the foreign workers who were killed after being buried alive, four others were injured.
The Tanjung Bungah landslide that struck the site of an affordable housing project in Lengkok Lembah Permai killed 11 workers, including a Malaysian.
A special committee, set up by the Penang state government, will begin investigations into the cause of the Nov 8 landslide at the Bukit Kukus project site in Paya Terubong.
Inquiry into the Tanjung Bungah landslide has yet to be completed.
The Bukit Kukus landslide, said Santhara, had taken place right behind the hill facing his apartment block.
Now, he said it was worrying whenever it rained.
“Anything can happen at any time. If I have the opportunity, I will move out,” he said at his home.
Already, he said, there was landslip on parts of the hill after the trees were cleared.
“There was erosion. It (the hill) has now been covered with sheets but we still worry when it rains.
“During rainfall, a lot of mud water wash down and drains overflow, spilling onto the road,” he said.
On the day of the landslide, K. Kalaiselvan, 43, who lives on the 18th floor of an apartment in the vicinity, heard a loud crash.
“It sounded like rocks and sand falling. Later, I realised it was a landslide.
“I am worried we could be next,” he said, adding that the slopes were bare and threatening.
“I run a coffee shop and have lived here for the past 15 years. This is my home.
“As I live on a really high floor, it is worrying whenever it rains,” he said.
Engineers: Put plan for a centralised agency into motion
PETALING JAYA: Set up a centralised national agency to really control slope safety, suggests the Institution of Engineers.
Its president David Lai (pic) said IEM had proposed the setting up of such a body years earlier and hoped that the government would look into this urgently.
“We had actually put in a position paper in 2002 on the classification of slopes into four categories according to the height and angle of the slope.
“We also had an update on the policy in 2009,” he said in an interview, adding that the two papers were conveyed to the Housing and Local Government Ministry that looked into building by-laws.
“We are still actively pursuing this matter,” said Lai.
He said there should also be a slope information management system put in place to identify risky zones.
“The government must take the lead in coming up with such a system. We can give recommendations but the government is the statutory body,” said Lai.
He was responding to Nasa data that put Malaysia among the top 10 countries with the most frequent landslides in the world between 2007 and 2016.
Lai said Malaysia should learn from Hong Kong which had to deal with several landslides in the 1980s until it set up a geo office.
“From then, they started to repair the old slopes and impose new guidelines. Now, they have managed to control slope failure,” he said.
He said IEM, which had some 48,000 members, had put in a recommendation that for development on critical slopes between 25° and more than 35° angle, there should not only be a submissions engineer but also a geo-technical specialist to check on the design.
Asked if there was a need for engineers to change their designs such as cutting or fortifying the slopes, Lai said: “We actually don’t need to change.
“We just need to make sure to put in place the required safety procedures.
“We just need to get the correct people and whether all these procedures have been implemented.”
He added that enforcement was a necessity.
He said with more hillside development, there was a need now for specialised geo-technical engineers, who knew soil conditions and behaviour, and incorporate this into slope design.
PWD working to keep landslides down
The Public Works Department (PWD) has been carrying out landslide prevention works on slopes along federal and state roads beginning this year.
The works, undertaken by its Slope Engineering Branch, will go on until 2020.
Among the measures being undertaken include evaluation, danger and risk mappings, and setting up of an early warning, real-time system for landslides.
Its director Zulkifly A. Ghani said the prevention works also included fortifying high-risk slopes along federal roads.
“For slopes along federal reserve and state roads, monitoring is being carried out by the district PWD via the visual method, such as site visits and inspections,” he said in an interview.
Zulkifly was responding to a question on the action taken by the department to monitor the slopes, particularly during the rainy season.
Last year, former works minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said 946 of the 16,454 slopes along federal roads in Peninsular Malaysia were classified as “very high hazard” while 1,551 others were “high hazard”.
Zulkifly concluded this with the latest technology of Light Detection and Ranging and drones.
“The Early Warning System is being developed,” he said.
Zulkifly said the EWS was being developed using monitoring techniques such as rain gauge, robotic total stations as well as the Global Navigation Satellite System.
“The equipment will continuously monitor any slope movement and the data transmitted to a server for analysis and displayed on a special website.
“Should the movement reach the danger limit, it will send a message to the officer via SMS. The officer will then decide what to do,” he said.
Forty-eight rain gauges had been installed at risky slopes.
“The real time warning limit is displayed on a special early warning website for landslides, which however is still being developed and improved on by the branch,” he said.
Source: The Star by Sim Leoi Leoi, Adrian Chan, and N. Trisha
Put on hold: A view of the site for the development of four apartment buildings in Paya Terubong, Air Itam.
GEORGE TOWN: Since the deadly landslide in Tanjung Bungah, people in Paya Terubong are looking over their shoulder – and up at a nearby hill.
They have been trying for years to stop a project comprising four towers, each over 40 storeys tall, approved on a hillside across the road from their homes.
Because the project has already been approved, the residents are down to one last resort – the state Planning Appeals Board.
“We must try. The only thing between our homes and those four towers will be a new two-way street that the developer will build if this project goes on,” said Taman Sri Rambai and Taman Lau Geok Swee Residents’ Association chairman Dr Ti Lian Geh.
The plan, he said, was supposed to be six-storey townhouses but the developer put in a request to change it to high-density apartments.
He said the residents have been living in fear after learning that the development plan was changed to three blocks of 47-storey luxury apartments and a 41-storey block of affordable housing.
He said a hearing is ongoing with the Planning Appeals Board to stop the development.
“Building skyscrapers on a steep hillslope is dangerous. If the towers come down, the whole neighbourhood will be gone,” he said, adding that the high-density project will also worsen traffic congestion there.
He told a press conference yesterday that the earthworks two years ago caused frequent flash floods, mudslides and torrential mudflows in the neighbourhood.
Penang MCA and Gerakan, which organised the press conference, urged the state government to revoke the approval.
Bukit Gelugor MCA division deputy secretary Choong Jun Jie said that every time there is a downpour, the residents worry.
“We do not want another tragedy,” he said.
Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Oh Tong Keong said people’s lives are in jeopardy when highrise projects are given priority.
The staggered hillslope is now covered with geotextile sheets after the Penang Island City Council issued a stop-work order about two years ago.
Penang Island City Council Engineering Department director Addnan Mohd Razali said all construction work there except for mitigation measures have been stopped pending the outcome of the residents’ appeal.
Source: The Star by Logeiswary Thevadass and Rena Lim
RECENTLY, the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) received an
enquiry on the usage of the title “Engr.” for members of the
institution. The title “Ir” was first introduced by IEM in the early
1970s for both the graduate and corporate members of the Inst...Getting
titles right in the engineering field in Malaysia rightwaystosuccess.blogspot.com
Misery raining down: The stretch in Paya Terubong is flooded during the downpour on Saturday Sept 12, 2015 — Photo courtesy of Gerakan secretary Oh Tong Keong.
GEORGE TOWN: The flash floods in low-lying parts on the island especially Air Itam, Paya Terubong and Bukit Jambul were caused by uncontrolled development of the hills, claimed state Gerakan secretary Oh Tong Keong.
“Paya Terubong became flooded after a downpour that lasted more than an hour and this was due to the clearing of the hills in Air Itam. The state has given developers a free hand to carry out their projects on the hills.
“The situation is so bad now that we do not even know if these developers are genuine as the state has failed to take action against anyone despite the local media reporting about our hills going bald due to development,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Pictures of a stretch in Paya Terubong being flooded have been circulating online since the downpour on Saturday with a news portal claiming that the cutting of hills and development of new condominiums were the cause of the floods.
Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Project chairman Chow Kon Yew said the flooding was the cause of work being carried out by a developer involved in a high-rise project in the area.
“The drains became blocked and this resulted in the water flowing onto the road during the downpour. Workers were sent by the developer to clear the drain and the water receded within an hour.” - The Star
Massive flood water from IJM Trehous construction project next to Bukit Jambul Hill pond is now flooded, overflown, diverted and entered visibly through inside houses at Lintang Bukit Jambul 1, instead of direct to the drain at Paya Terubong road. This is because the pond water outlet was choked and the original underground piping system is confirmed broken and formed sinkholes with water diverted to residential houses.
These caused damages to houses due to soil erosion, multiple slabs collapsed, multiple cracks; broken tiles: cements, pipes and water leakages, etc.
House Slabs collapsed
To prevent further damages to houses, residents proposed to Penang City Council to construct an alternate outlet for pond water smoothly flown out to alternate area, close and seal up with cement the existing outlet which was not properly constructed as it was choked/stucked all the times.
Probe on cause of mudslide
GEORGE TOWN: Illegal hill clearing behind the Green Garden Apartments in Paya Terubong could have been the cause behind the mudslide on Wednesday.
Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said there was a possibility that the hill was illegally cleared for farming.
A team has been sent to inspect the hill to determine how the mudslide occurred and to investigate the extent of the illegal clearing.
“We will have a press conference on Saturday to explain what we discovered.
“I can’t say much yet as investigations are ongoing,” he said yesterday.
Chow added that the flash floods were also due to the inability of two retention ponds in two development sites in the area to cope with the surface runoff.
Works to widen and deepen the retention ponds are ongoing.
Early Wednesday morning, a downpour caused a deluge of fast-flowing mud and debris from the hills to hit Jalan Paya Terubong while flash floods hit low-lying areas of the island.
In a press statement issued on the same day, Chow said the flash floods in Penang were due to an increased surface runoff where the water level increased suddenly, causing drains to be filled to the brim.
“The drains in George Town were not designed to handle such heavy rainfall,” he said.
A check on Penang’s tide chart also showed that the rising tide was highest at 8.19am, about an hour after the rain began in most parts.
Among the worst affected areas were Bandar Baru Perda, Kampung Nelayan, Kampung Sulup, Kampung 14 and Kampung Masjid in Teluk Kumbar, and Kampung Seronok and Kampung Binjai in Bayan Lepas.
According to a weather review from August to October available on the Malaysian Meteorological Department website, countries in South-East Asia are currently in the phase of the south-west monsoon.
Floods and mudslide hit Penang
GEORGE TOWN: An early morning downpour caused flash floods in many parts of the town here, leading to traffic snarls at low-lying areas like Jalan Khaw Sim Bee, Jalan Westland, Jalan P. Ramlee, Jalan Logan, Jalan Anson, Jalan Transfer and Jalan Hutton.
However, the worst-hit areas were away from the town centre, with a deluge of mud and sand hitting Jalan Paya Terubong heading towards Balik Pulau.
There was also a bumper-to-bumper crawl after an uprooted tree blocked a good part of the road.
Traffic police were deployed to the scene to control the traffic flow until the tree was removed.
Resident Y.S. Chai, 42, who lives in a terrace house in Jalan Paya Terubong, said the flash flood was one of the worst that had ever occurred as it washed mud and soil down to the road and into the house compounds.
Deluged: Water flowing down the hillslope in Paya Terubong, Air Itam. – ZAINUDIN AHAD / The Star.
She said the heavy rain lasted for only about 30 minutes but muddy waters rose very quickly and rushed onto the front porch of her house.
“I have never encountered a flood this bad before. It took us around three hours to clean everything up,” she said.
Further down the road, a gloomy Pon Kah Tong sprayed water from a hose to clear the mud that had accumulated in his car service workshop.
Paya Terubong is an area that has seen rapid development in recent years.
Courage in motion: (Top) Participants taking on the uphill challenge of climbing Iconic Hill during ‘Climb to Change a Life’ hiking event in Paya Terubong, Penang. (Inset) Zy Kher and his father making their way up the hill. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
Pond water overflown to houses
Sinkhole in front of house
