MPPP's response

Well, finally, I received a more appropriate reply from the Penang Island Municipal Council regarding the chopping down of the trees at that small patch of land outside the Fort Cornwallis in the city. At least, the MPPP now admitted that the trees had been removed, unlike that earlier email which tried to deny the fact completely.

Even though I still hold on to my conviction that the action, that is, the chopping down of the trees, was totally wrong, there is nothing more that can be done to salvage the situation. The trees are gone. Period.

Basically, what the MPPP said in their report were:

a) They trimmed the two Casuarina trees so that there would be a clear line of sight from the top of the lighthouse. I wouldn't want to argue with this as I do not know how high were the untrimmed trees in the first place.
b) The Council claimed that one of the Casuarina trees was dying and had to be felled before it became a danger to the people.
c) The Weeping Figs had been replanted elsewhere in the city. Really? I hadn't heard of this being done and anyway, I do not know when it was done or where the replanting took place. But I am not very confident that the trees will survive. I hope they do, but I'm not hopeful at all.
d) The new saplings on that plot of land are those of the Penaga Laut which the Council claimed is "more significant" without giving any further explanation. But I'm still puzzled. If the Weeping Figs were't that high in the first place, why bother even replacing them at all?

It's all very sad indeed.....