Main Penang NGOs express alarm over PGCC

 Accountability, Civil society, Development issues, Energy resources, Environment, Malaysian finance/business, Media, People's Park/PGCC  10 Responses »
Sep 152007
 

If Patrick Lim and Equine Capital think it is going to be smooth sailing after the Prime Minister announced that approvals for the PGCC would be fast-tracked, they had better think again. This morning, half a dozen of the main Penang NGOs came together to express their stand against the development of the PGCC at a packed press conference held at the CAP office. Also present was a cameraman (the logo on the camera said ntv7, but I am not so sure) who meticulously videotaped the proceedings. (Let’s see what comes out on ntv7 tonight. I am not holding my breath.) Present were representatives from CAP, Penang Heritage Trust, Malaysian Nature Society, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Cepat, and Aliran as well as other concerned Penangites. The site of the project – the present Turf Club – was originally given by the government for a nominal sum and was zoned as ‘Open [Read more]

RM25 billion PGCC: 33 tower blocks, over 40 storeys each

 Accountability, Development issues, Energy resources, Environment, Malaysian finance/business, Media, People's Park/PGCC  1 Response »
Sep 082007
 

It’s a RM25 billion whopper: about 33 tower blocks, each over 40 storeys high on the land being used by the Penang Turf Club. Imagine that! And it looks like two different meetings on the Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) project are going to be held at two posh venues on Monday, 10 September – one at The Mansion and the other at the Penang Sports Club. I now gather that the meeting at the Penang Sports Club was requested by the Jesselton Residents Association, which is concerned about this mega project on the doorstep of their peaceful and tranquil neighbourhood. Apparently, the developers requested that only three reps attend the meeting but the Jesselton Residents Association asked for 10. The meeting at the Mansion will be a briefing on the PGCC on behalf of the developer (Abad Naluri) by Equine Capital executive chairman Patrick Lim (who is said by [Read more]

An inspiring night

 Global justice movement, Human rights, Marginalised groups, Media  2 Responses »
Sep 022007
 

Just back from the dinner to celebrate Aliran’s 30th anniversary – and being so close to the 50th anniversary of Merdeka and 44th anniversary of Malaysia, there was much cause for reflection. But so different from the official Merdeka celebrations. The 700-strong crowd seemed to relish the performances put up by the Community Band, the Aliran Singers, Johan and the Instant Cafe Theatre Company. Perhaps the songs and satire about the struggles of ordinary people and our trials and tribulations in trying to discover what it means to be a true Malaysian struck a chord among those present.

Would Jesus want the Makkal Osai suspended?

 Christianity, Media  17 Responses »
Aug 242007
 

This evening, I received an SMS with the intriguing question: “So u think Makal Osai shld b suspended?” Makai Osai of course refers to the Tamil daily that published an image of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a beer can four days ago. It was slapped with a suspension from today to 24 September. It was interesting to see the Islamic Party, Pas, coming out to express displeasure against the depiction of Jesus in the paper. Archbishop Murphy has found himself an unlikely ally, I thought! Since then, the paper has apologised and Archbishop Murphy has accepted the apology. Quite appropriately, the quote next to the picture that was deemed offensive read: “If someone repents for his mistakes, then heaven awaits them.” End of matter? No, the paper was nonetheless hit with a suspension order.

Malaysia Today closes in on The Star online

 Media  7 Responses »
Aug 042007
 
Malaysia Today closes in on The Star online

I did a check on Alexa to find out the estimated global reach of the main English media in Malaysia. Here are the rankings at 5.30 pm on 4 August 2007: 1. Star (0.052% of daily Internet surfers worldwide) 2. Malaysia Today (0.020%) 3. NST (0.014%) 4. Malaysiakini (0.009%) 5. Harakahdaily (0.0075%) Colour code: Beige – The Star; Blue – Malaysia Today; Black – NST; Red – Malaysiakini; Green – Harakah Interesting to see that Malaysia Today has overtaken NST, Malaysiakini and Harakahdaily and is now closing in on The Star online! Of course, this is just a very rough estimate – with all kinds of other variables that could present a different picture – but it is a revealing snapshot nonetheless.

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