Someone doesn’t like the Jerit cyclists Photo by the Jerit crew (More pictures here) The Jerit cyclists continue to be hit by one obstacle after another. In a pre-dawn incident today, unknown arsonist(s) torched eight of the Jerit bikes in Penanti on mainland Penang, where the cycling team were spending the night. Three of the cycles were badly damaged. The four dozen cyclists were not to be deterred and continued their journey south.
The glass facade of George Town’s premier business hotel, Traders Hotel (formerly Shangri-la Hotel), where Jerit cyclists were to hand over their memo to Guan Eng at 1.30pm Pakatan leaders were inside attending a conference to outline their “New economic vision for Penang and Malaysia”. US multinational electronics corporation, Agilent Technologies, and the Shangri La hotels chain were the sponsors of the event, to which participants had to pay RM250/person to attend. Ironically, the session scheduled just before lunchtime was “Getting the politics right to enable sustainable economic growth that is socially just.” But nobody cared to ask the workers and representatives of marginalised communities outside what they thought of this vision. Instead, the front door of the hotel was locked while hotel management and security looked concerned. Not that the Jerit cyclists were desperate to get in. All they wanted to do was hand over their memo and leave. [Read more]
In case you missed it, Clinton’s US$200,000 appearance in KL has been shrouded in controversy. Check out this NYT report. Wasn’t it Clinton who promoted and expanded neoliberal free trade?
Now that the PM has urged state governments to consider stopping all hill-slope development projects, how are the state governments in Penang and elsewhere going to respond? Will the Penang government resort to its usual mantra: that stopping such projects will expose the state to claims of compensation?
Can anyone in the Klang Valley familiar with the Bukit Antarabangsa area tell me why you think the landslide, which buried eight houses at dawn today, ocurred? Three people are reportedly confirmed dead while several others are believed to have perished. What do you think? Was it just a natural disaster or was it the result of environmental degradation? Blog reader Selangor resident has few doubts: Let me tell you why: RAMPANT & IRRESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT! That’s why! DEVELOPMENT OF HILLSLOPES DISRUPTS BODIES OF WATER – resulting in flooding, water shortage … – in its worst form, soil erosion and landslides – causing destruction of property and lives We the folks of Ampang Hills have been fighting for years for the local government to be extremely cautious when they approve hillslope projects. It’s been 16 years since Highland Towers tragedy but it still continues. How many more lives?! We have been [Read more]