The Penang Botanic Gardens Workshop

By Ben Wismen

Photo by Ben Wismen

The development of some sort of master plan for the Penang Botanic Gardens is a long overdue process. Despite years of lobbying from various interest groups and stakeholders, the previous administration of the Penang Botanic Gardens had ignored the importance of having a plan for the area, allowing for various developments and non-development to take place. In fact, some criticism went as far as likening the Penang Botanic Gardens to Angkor, preserved in time.

However, things started to change with the new state government. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had, in late 2009, listened to the presentation from an ad hoc working group and adopted the recommendations to develop a master plan for the Penang Botanic Garden. The Penang State Secretary then took the helm and led a technical committee to address the recommendations, including giving a deadline of September 2010 to the Town and Country Planning Department to come up with a new master plan for the Penang Botanic Gardens.

That deadline was never met.

Realising that the efforts to develop a master plan were reaching a dead end, Tengku Dato’ Idaura, the Curator of the Penang Botanic Gardens, approached several individuals and SERI to assist in coming up with a master plan for the Gardens. A series of workshops and symposiums to gather opinions, ideas and feedback would be held, and consultant to be appointed to compile and translate these ideas into a physical master plan.

Tengku Dato' Idaura - Photo by Ben Wismen

Using the same premise, Tengku Dato’ Idaura approached the director of Town and Country Planning Department, hoping to get him engaged in the workshops. Instead of expressing his participation, the director suggested converting the master plan into a Special Area Plan, which has a legal standing under the Town and Country Planning Act. The State Planning Committee unanimously agreed that the plan be commissioned, and negotiations be held to engage AJM Planning & Urban Design Group Sdn Bhd as the consultancy firm.

On 17 March, SERI, in partnership with Penang Botanic Gardens, held a workshop to gather ideas and opinions on the types of policies, guidelines and changes that are desired for the Special Area Plan. The workshop was strictly by invitation only.

Four presentations were delivered, covering topics such as the issues and challenges faced in developing the Penang Botanic Gardens, research and development potential for a botanic garden, and also the role of the Penang Botanic Gardens in the community. Tengku Dato’ Idaura also gave a poignant presentation, expressing the various challenges, disappointments, frustrations, opportunities experienced during her role as the curator since  August 2010.

Photo by Ben Wismen

In the afternoon session of the workshop, which I facilitated, the participants explored the different ideas and opinions of changes, the possible policy recommendations and the new framework for development in the Penang Botanic Gardens. Some of the policies include the exclusion of vehicular traffic in the Gardens, the restoration of the waterfall as an icon, linkages of open spaces, financial structure and so on. These points were duly picked up by the consultants, which will hopefully assist them in developing the scope of work for the Special Area Plan.

The consultancy firm is scheduled to submit its inception report on 28 March 2011, with the feedback and ideas gathered from the stakeholders via the workshop, will be able to define the desired scope of work and action, and make the Special Area Plan a reality. (As of this writing it is unclear whether the report has been submitted by the deadline.) Time has become the limiting factor, and it is hoped that the Special Area Plan will be ready by August 2011 and gazetted in the State Legislative Assembly before the end of 2011.

To further encourage public participation, a Penang Botanic Gardens Symposium will be held in May 2011. This symposium, jointly organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang Botanic Gardens and SERI, will bring in regional experts on botanical gardens and planning to discuss on the various directions of growth for the Penang Botanic Gardens, and to also open the plans and concepts of new developments of the Penang Botanic Gardens to the general public.

The key to developing this Special Area Plan is to listen to the people, instead of the conventional armchair planning.