Now here’s a piece by Himanshu Bhatt in theSun that is worth pondering over. Goes to show why we can’t take anything for granted if we mess with Nature.
GEORGE TOWN (Jan 19, 2010) : Inshore fishermen who ply the waters of the Penang Channel where the dragon boat capsize incident occurred on Sunday want the authorities to look into the impact of reclamation on the currents in the channel.
Traditional inshore fisherman Khoo Kay Keat points to this new shallow
shoreline along the reclaimed land in Jelutong where the Bandar Sri Penang
fishermen’s jetty is built. Penang held its Pesta dragon boat race here last year.
The accident that took the lives of six people during a dragon-boat training
session on Sunday occurred about a km away from this reclaimed area.Khoo Kay Keat, 55, a former Penang Inshore Fishermen’s Welfare Association committee member, who now operates in the area, said they had observed currents changing over last 10 years or so.
He said the inshore fishermen had seen certain stretches along the coastline becoming shallower about the same time that reclamation work had taken place, while the middle portions of the channel had remained deep.
Full article in theSun here.
The current flows is from the bay of Bengal, down the Straits of Malacca, and exits into South China Sea near Singapore.
It always has been that way.
Land reclamation can not change that big flow, unless one successfully block the straits, like what Moses did very long time ago, at Red Sea.
The most land reclamation can do is to create some mini swirling effects.
That’s all.
Learn your geography, Anil.
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I take issue with iron’s attempt to look clever.
Common sense tells us that movement of water down a channel is a function of its containment.
If you reshape or restrict the channel, water flow patterns will change in response to the retardation. Same energy being forced into a constricted channel, certain areas flow faster than before, and then eddy behind the “shadow” of the retarding mass. No rocket science.
Iron concedes “mini swirling effects”. Well, if you are in a small boat, “mini” can be big enough.
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Your common sense is true. I can’t deny that common sense of yours.
But you forgot three things — that is,
* The volume of the water flow,
* The speed of the flow, and
* The angle ( from high ground to low ground ) of the water flow.
Angle wise, the depth of the South China Sea is actually shallower than that of the Indian Ocean. But water is still flowing from the Indian Ocean to South China Sea due to the rotation of the Earth.
Which means, the water pressure in the Indian Ocean is higher than that of the South China Sea.
But how much pressure?
To see how much the pressure is, look at the speed of the water flow.
Ask any fisherman you can find. Ask them how fast the water of the Straits flow, from North to South, on a windless and tideless day, and they can tell you that it is less than 2 knot / hour.
Which means, the pressure difference from the Indian Ocean (Gulf of Bengal) to South China Sea (Singapore) isn’t THAT great.
Which means, even if you re-shape the channel, by land reclamation, the resulting swirls wouldn’t be so great that ships can sink.
The undercurrent that sunk that dragon boat wasn’t caused by land reclamation. It was something else – maybe from a changing tide, maybe an impending storm, maybe something else.
No, I am not “smart”. I say what I say based on facts, not on speculations nor rumours.
I understand where some of you come from. You guys look at yourself as “environmentalists” and you are opposed to _anything_ that might alter the environment.
Guess what? I am an environmentalist too.
But I won’t go around throwing assumptions based on nothing.
While I do know that land reclamation can change the shape of water flow, I also know that the water flow itself ( without any added ingredient like storm, tide, etc ) isn’t that great to begin with.
Which means, land reclamation, while I dislike them, does not have such a drastic effect on water current flow, as alleged by some people.
Thank you for reading !
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Way to go man, Iron. You know what in Singapore the Malaysian government also argue on that basis. The land reclamation on Tuas. Only to be rebutted by fellow Malaysians across the causeway (Singapore). Or former Malaysians
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Err… Iron, you forgot one possibility. I am not saying you must be wrong, but consider these points.
1. The Penang harbor is a harbor because it has reasonably deep waters,
2. The McCallum area is shallow with mud, perhaps more so after the reclamation block off regular currents,
3. Tide water changes behavior when flowing from deep water to shallow water, they “crumple up”, and form crests of waves. That’s how tsunamis are almost undetectable by human in deep sea, but roll up to many meters near the shore.
4. The day and time of the tragedy was the third day of lunar month. On the third and 18th day of lunar month, the tide is at its lowest around 8am-9am (and 8pm to 9pm), then it rises to its highest point of the month, starting that time. Hence the famous Qiantang estuary tidal bore, where the Y-shaped river mouth concentrates the destructive power of the monthly tidal wave (not tsunami).
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlZUgFTg-qQ or http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=qiantang+river+tidal+bore
Taken together, it is possible that incoming tide from Penang strait’s deeper water rises up significantly when it hits the edge of the shallow McCallum area.
Reclamation and the new mud and silt may have increased the height difference in the sea bed, hence new and less predictable “waves” or bores.
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I’m not saying the waves at McCallum is an exact duplicate of other tidal bores. Afterall, this is sea, with waves bouncing from both shores too.
But the tragedy occurred near the narrowest point of the strait, where two funnel-shapes meet. Related theories should be considered for future safety.
See map http://wikimapia.org/#lat=5.4041841&lon=100.3373837&z=11&l=0&m=b
See article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_bore
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Thank you, Kah Seng, for bringing up the fact of 3rd day of the moon, where the tide ebbs and then rises.
1. Penang’s harbor has been dredged many time over the years.
Which means, it’s not “deep water” as many have thoughts.
Of course, Port Swettenham of Penang is located near the Esplanade, and if we look at the map of Penang Island, on the north east corner, there’s an “arm” stretching out.
That “arm” is the thing that blocks the most of the mud flowing form Butterworth / Kedah to accumulate in the Port Swettenham.
Because of that “arm”, mud are being transporter westward to Gurney Drive / Tanjung Tokong area. ( Hence the mud flat phenomenon in Gurney Drive).
2. The McCallum area was a formerly a swamp. Muds from the Seberang Prai (not Butterworth) accumulated along the swampy area.
The effect of land reclamation might have sped up the accumulation, much like what happened in the land reclamation in Tanjung Tokong causing mud flat to appear in Gurney Drive.
3. The “funnel” shape of the waterway between the Penang Island and Seberang was already there, before any land reclamation even begun. Which means, tide effects amplified along the coastal areas on both sides, particularly on the Island side.
4. Last but no least, the tide. Yes, the accident occurred just when the tide is roaring back after the lowest point (8 – 9 AM). Coupled with the fact that the boat rowing was in the area where there are quite a number of commercial ships, with their propellers churning, which may have multiplication effect on the undercurrents of that area.
I am not for or against land reclamation. My only 2 points are:
A. Land reclamation will definitely have influence on current flow, but the change would NOT be as much as some people have claimed, that the land reclamation has causes so much changes that the water can sinks ships.
B. Ultimately the blame, if we need to find someone to blame, on the tragic deaths of the 6 young men rests squarely on the Headmaster and the Board of Directors of that school.
They are the ones who have been (allegedly) negligence on their jobs. They are the one who permit boys who can’t swim to row boat.
Even if the boys were not rowing boats at the McCallum area, boats being boats, are floating on water, and they could capsize anywhere, even on the calm water of the Tanjung Tokong Dam.
Fact is that the school allows people who can’t swim to row boat (suggests) sheer negligence on the part of the Headmaster and the Board of Directors of that school.
They should all step down and be replaced by people who are more responsible.
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I forgot to add this —
If we take a look at the map of the upper part of the Straits of Malacca, from the Bay of Bengal, down to Penang, on the east side of the Straits, we will notice that the LAND slanting, from North West to South East.
Which means, on the east side of the Straits, water flows from Bay of Bengal, coasting along the shoreline of Thailand to Perlis and Kedah, and then when it reaches somewhere near Penang, the “NW to SE” slant of the land mass suddenly disappear.
What would this do to the water?
When the water flow hits the land mass that blocks it, it will scrap up whichever land mass that blocks the flow.
And this is what exactly is happening to Pantai Bersih and surrounding area along side the Butterworth / Seberang Prai coastline.
The sea keeps on eating up the shoreline.
And the beneficiaries? Penang Island !
The mud / sud and whatever that the water has scrapped up from Kuala Muda / Butterworth / Prai landed along the northern / eastern shore of the island.
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Iron – You say that you are an environmentalist. What are your qualifications in oceanography? I don’t know about the local currents in Penang, but according to all the information on the internet, the prevailing current in the Straits of Malacca is from southeast to northwest all year round. This is due to salinity differences exacerbated in the winter by the Indian monsoon, not to any slope in the land or the seabed.
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The Law of Nature should not be tampered with as far as possible…”For every action there is a reaction”
Are’nt we familiar with this simple law of physics?
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“For every action there is a reaction” is newtonian and is now not accurate. A more accurate understanding of nature is that for every action there is a multitude of indeterministic results. Actually very similar to what Buddha taught in the law of karma.
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I recommend all Malaysians to learn swimming. If you fall into deep water, you’ll definitely have a better chance of surviving.
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Yes, of course.
When you mess with mother nature, there will be repercussions.
Energy cannot be stop nor destroyed. It is diverted or converted. Apply this to movement of water.
Take a boat/ferry ride along HK habour. The locals will tell you its not as smooth a ride as it was 20 yrs ago due to the land reclamation.
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> Take a boat/ferry ride along HK habour. The locals will tell you its not as smooth a ride as it was 20 yrs ago due to the land reclamation.
Hai, not exactly the most scientific means of evaluation. We can’t go touchy-feely if we want people to respect our claims.
Back it up with some real concrete scientific measurements.
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If the current erode the shoreline like in Kelantan and Trengganu, then the Gerakan/UMNO government must go all the way to defend the shorelines by building and building again?
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Yeah i think it’s reasonable to assume that land reclamation affects currents. To confirm that, I think we can ask Singapore. They reclaim more land than most other countries. The entire runway in Changi Airport sits on reclaimed land. Maybe they have done some impact studies.
However the drowning episode itself prompts me to ask :
1. surely the minimum criteria for engaging in dragonboat race is the ability to swim ? how come the school select people who can’t swim ?? isn’t this irresponsible ? shouldn’t they be trained to swim ?
2. how come there are not enough life-jackets for everyone in that boat ? this itself is a crime.
3. what are the fitness level of the trainees ? were they physically strong enough to be able to meet the minimum capability to engage strong currents or difficult situation ? did the school exercise reasonable care in selecting the right people ? (since some of them can’t swim, i’m beginning to doubt the school’s selection criteria. This places the trainees in danger.)
4. lastly, the choice of location for training. is it the right location taking safety aspects into consideration ? From the articles i read, i think not.
My condolences to the families of the deceased – it must be painful. Let not their death be in vain. Find out the root cause, and make sure measures are put in place to prevent a recurrence.
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Who’s talking about big flow, Iron? Dragon boats and fishing boats are small compared to swirls. I’m not blaming any individuals, but local government should be elected to be even more accountable, organized, proactive, and transparent with such potential local hazards to avoid such tragedies to students and fishermen.
Redirected currents can also build up mudflat and sand banks, which further changes currents in bigger ways over time.
Another example is Gurney Drive. After Tanjung Tokong was reclaimed, Gurney Drive has become a bed of silt, displaying a mudflat perhaps 2/3 of the months, rather than just at low tide.
On the north shore of Penang (not the McCallum area), there is a Nike “swoosh” pattern on almost all its bays, with
1. muddy bay with little sand at the left (western side)
2. sandy beach at the eastern side.
This swoosh shape can be seen here (from sandy east to muddy west):
1. E&O to Gurney Drive’s Evergreen (narrow sandy), to pantai molek and Tanjung Tokong (muddy),
2. Naza hotel (sandy) past Tanjung Bungah hotel to Spring Tide residents (muddy),
3. Rainbow kindergarten (sandy, west of sprint tide) to Penang Swimming Club’s “sore thumb” (muddy),
4. West of the Sore Thumb (very sandy) to Seahome (muddy),
5. Dalat School (sandy, west of Seahome) to the floating mosque and water sport center (muddy),
6. Miami Beach (sandy) to the Telekom tsunami evacuee housing (muddy on the right),
7. Moonlight Bay (small, but same pattern), and
8. The whole Batu Feringgi (sandy) to Teluk Bahang Bay (muddy),
While this “swoosh” shape probably was caused by the unequal strengths of northeast and southwest monsoons (a natural force), areas #1, #3, #5, and #6 had recently-enlarged muddy bay apparently because reclamations redirected the natural force of monsoon and other currents.
Many years ago, we could row dragon boats in Gurney Drive. The Penang Swimming Club was not so mud-clogged before the Sore Thumb illegal reclamation. The floating mosque area was not so mud-clogged before the water-sport center was reclaimed. West of Miami Bay was also not so muddy before Telekom extended its little cape (which until recently housed tsunami evacuee).
See http://wikimapia.org/#lat=5.4573419&lon=100.2898121&z=14&l=0&m=t&search=sea%20home or http://wikimapia.org/#lat=5.4573419&lon=100.2898121&z=14&l=0&m=b&v=8&search=sea%20home
Human reclamation can have a significant impact on current and mud. We need local elections and freer press, and more engineering studies to yield a more coherent picture.
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Any land reclamation is under UMNO/Gerakan Federal JPS or DID coastal hands. As mentioned – not even our Engr Ong Su Eng can claim his expertise here as modelling and verification of data is required. If the plans are submitted to State DID, they have to refer to Federal DID.
This reclamation has been carried out under Gerakan/UMNO reign and who has the say?
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Dear Kah Seng,
To understand the Gurney Drive phenomena, you must go to Pantai Bersih on the other side, yes, Butterworth.
Over there beaches are being eaten up by the sea.
While at the same time, the soil that the sea has swallowed, they pile up on the Island side.
That phenomena started way back, and I mean, WAY BACK, in the 1970′s.
Trust me.
Almost every morning in the 60′s and 70′s (oh no, I have disclosed how old I am
) I jog on the Gurney Drive.
Even at that time, mud flat already started forming.
The land reclamation in Tanjung Tokong area only sped up the mud flat built up, since mud that used to flow up North, even towards the Chinese Swimming Club area, have been blocked by the land reclamation project, so they just accumulate in the Gurney Drive area.
Observation, my friend. Not speculation.
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Remember Raja Petra’s Malaysia Today’s article…HOW CORRUPTION AFFECTS US ALL…..Here is a very good example. Corruption affects us one way or another.
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It had to come sooner or later. Now it seems our new state opposition is questioning why the race venue was changed from the Penang Dam. When it was changed, why didn’t they raise this pertinent question and state their objections in the strongest possible terms to it, if safety was of paramount importance to them?
If one is guilty, so is the other. I remember when the dragon boat races were held at Gurney Drive. Why was it necessary to change it to Penang Dam?
Frankly, I find it disgustingly appalling for anyone to even try, or be seen trying, to derive any kind of benefit from this very unfortunate incident. It breaks my heart just thinking what the poor parents must be going through right now.
If you have an ounce of decency in your heart, then you should stop what you’re doing and show some respect.
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Could not agree more. Everyone is an expert in hindsight.
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Here is the link….it is most appropriate to read it now….
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27328:how-does-corruption-affect-us-let-me-count-the-ways-updated-with-chinese-translation&catid=71:archives-2009&Itemid=100106
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Corruption affects all of us….
1. Headmaster is too busy focusing on asking students to buy insurance plans, building renovation, food promotion and forcing students to buy…..rather than on student safety, activities planning because this brings no money
2. Board of Directors interested in donation (no report or audit done), building renovation, building new buildings, canteen contracts, obtaining Datukship….rather than students welfare.
3. No proper safety procedures or enforcement. Even if there is and anybody caught breaking it can selesai….
4. No proper planning or study of reclamation…tide study, undercurrents, water flow, etc…it is just a short cut to get plans approved.
SO, CORRUPTION REALLY AFFECTS US IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
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I agree with points #1, 3, 4 strongly.
On point 2, the board of directors have my sympathy. While more audit will be good, remember it has been the federal government who makes life difficult for these SJKC and SMJK (chinese vernacular primary schools and chinese-leaning, national type high school). The federal government and ministry of education underfund them, such that the boards of directors have to go out of their way to raise money.
In general, I tend to believe that the directors pay out more than they get in in terms of money. What they get in return is the social recognition and sense of purpose in life. They also act as a buffer for the headmaster when the ministry of education create bureaucratic and political fuss. (Perhaps that buffer works negatively this time.)
Having these rather independent-minded boards of director is the secret weapons SJKC and SMJK have and why they excel. Decentralized civil society leadership is what makes these schools good in the first place. Few of our non-Chinese-educated intellects grasp this point, as the catholic school establishment apparently gave up too easily 30 years ago.
The opposite is happening in national schools (SJK and SMK) now including the formerly catholic schools which boards have been disenfranchised or weakened to the point the nationalist/racist officers of ministry of education can call all the shots in canteen, buildings, finance, and other capital matters. The corruption there is just appalling.
The chinese-language-leaning SJKC and SMJK in contrast, again in general, have boards of directors who treat their schools like their own vegetable garden (albeit with a little too much ego), cultivating and growing them carefully for the long term.
For what else do they have at this stage of their life? This is their form of self-actualization, a powerful incentive in late stage of life for proud people who have made it financially – mostly without government and NEP help.
Again, all in generality.
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Dear Kah Seng,
The Board of Director of that school has none of my sympathy.
They are on the board for their own selfish interests, never for the betterment of the school.
You ought to know that, Kah Seng.
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I’m more sympathetic of selfishness. Selfishness is good and, in fact necessary because it is honest, provided we do not go out of our way to harm other people.
Asking for sacrifice can be even more dangerous. Look at NEP, military regimes, national service, poor EPF holders, etc. Only parents can justifiably sacrifice for their children, because children are part of themselves. All other sacrifices are dubious, because who call for sacrifice but those unconscientious ones who benefit from their sacrificial victims?
I’m not defending the BODs. Only that selfishness in itself cannot be a criteria of blame.
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School management, principle and teachers incharge for this activities to be PUNISHED FIRST. They should take responsibilities no matter what. Do they really take care all the precautions before executing such boating training? Is there any written approval from Marine Department or related authorities acknowledging area safe for training?SOLAS (Safety of life at sea) as per IMO ruling clearly define life jacket should subject to certain hours of floating capacity, emergency light&battery and expiry date too. So, if the management& co. really consider all these factors than great chances salvaging those poor life are there.
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This goes beyond punishment, since punishments mean people have to DIE before things are done properly.
It’s a systematic flaw.
And in the context of the Chinese schools, I believe maybe KahSeng should pick up the torch looking for a definite answer.
The present system that manages the Directorship of the Chinese school system is a remnant that can be traced back to the 1950′s.
Something that worked in the much simplified society in the 1950′s ain’t working no more in the present society which is much much more complicated.
Look at who is on the Board of the Director of that school, for instant. Look at their qualification. And what they have done for the school / students / society and you will find one thing — it’s all about FACE.
People fought hard battle in order to get into the Board of Director because that brings a lot of prestige in the Chinese society, and in the midst of the fighting, most forgot why they want to be a director in a school in the first place.
They forgot about serving the needs of the school / student body.
They forgot about the welfare of the teachers / workers / students.
All they are after is FACE, and more FACE, ie, recognition / prestige.
And the (alleged) anti-Chinese school attitude of the Malaysian education ministry only makes the matter worse.
Instead of getting the right people into the board of director for Chinese schools to better serve the students and the society, the Chinese society hunker down, with siege mentality to the highest level, offering blind support to whoever is in the board of director, as if those in the BOD can do no wrong.
Case in point: There have been a lot of wrongs done by the BOD of that particular high school.
The BOD itself has formed a “pack”, protecting their “turf” from being “invaded”, against anyone, especially the fellow ethnic Chinese.
There have been a lot of suggestions made to the BOD to improve the school.
There have been a lot of offer, from many many “Old Boys” of the school who have attained success in various fields, all around the world.
Over the years the “Old Boys” gave suggestions to the BOD, out of the love of the school. The BOD, on the other hand, DID NOTHING !
Absolutely nothing.
Since Kah Seng is one of the Old Boys, I believe Kah Seng should take up the torch to find a way to break this deadlock.
Other schools have caught up and have even surpassed this old school. It is way pass the time to do something.
Dear Kah Seng, are you game?
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School BODs tend to be so mired with unfair politics that idea-oriented people like me can’t do much. I have bigger fish to catch.
The bigger fish I am referring to is the battle of ideas. Our developing-world intellectuals, academicians, and journalists (some times I think including Anil) are such well-meaning suckers for socialist, government-interventionist, anti-globalization ideas, that we are all in danger of being led lemming-like over an authoritarian precipice.
The honest path lies in libertarianism, yet most fear it. That’s where I should work.
While I’m at it, why don’t you guys look up some good, free, independent, and fresh economic/business ideas that you normally won’t find in the main stream media? See http://mises.org/
It is best to organize such readings through Google Reader http://reader.google.com/ . For example, I also have Anil’s articles and other Web media accessed with RSS feed to my Google Reader.
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Wasn’t this a case of natural disaster and negligence? Why out of a sudden, it became so political? Are there no other places to point a finger?
Condolences to the family of the victim.
While it is good if we could find the cause so rectification/prevention can be done… In times of adversity, diagnostic doesn’t offer comfort but instead, concern and support.
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It is a case of man-made disaster, not natural disaster.
A lot of things have gone wrong.
Students who don’t know how to swim are permitted to row the boat.
Out of 18 people on board, only 2 wore safety jackets.
The safety jackets are not of good quality.
The location where disaster happened has a lot of commercial sea traffic, which means a lot of propellers spinning under the water, which means a lot of under currents, which means, it is NOT a place for a boat full of non-swimmers to row boat.
And last, but not least, there isn’t any safety precautions available — they never inform the coast guards, they don’t have life guards on standby, and so on.
It’s Tuesday After Quarterbacking. Of course we can pick out a lot of things that went wrong.
But the most important thing is, why they allowed that to happen?
1. Why the headmaster never even care if the students who row the dragon boat know how to swim or not?
Isn’t that the duty of a headmaster – to ensure the safety of the students?
2. Where was the Board of Directors?
Aren’t they the ones supervising the running of the school, including all the school-related activities where there might be _any_ danger to the students?
Why none of them even care?
3. Why this dragon boat thing is run by a 23 year old teacher, who himself doesn’t know how to swim?
Where are the proper precautionary procedures?
Why is there no risk-accessment made before hand?
There are a lot more “WHYs” awaiting to be answered.
6 young people have died. Their deaths ought to be a clear warning sign of what have gone wrong with a lot of things.
They should not die in vain.
Their deaths should at least enable us an opportunity to overhaul the system.
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Iron, my point is, this should not be made into a political issues or land reclamation. But I do agree with most part of your replies. Cheers
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Everything is politics. Politics allocates power so that reasonable rules are set/reset and followed, and lives and properties are protected in the future.
If we don’t discuss the political power that can restructure the rules, then the same tragedies WILL happen again.
Be careful not to fall into the trap of those trying to protect the power-that-be, who says “don’t politicize this, don’t politicize that” when it does not suit them.
The key difference should be whether political talk is reasoned and clear, or whether it is vengeful and irresponsible.
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I am active in Penang Swimming Club. Look at the life jackets that are allowed in the country, they are all substandard….
The Headmaster, as “head” of the school must stand up and take responsibility. He should resign graciously. If somebody wants to hold a high position and enjoy the salary, it MUST come with responsibility, otherwise he might as welll be the school gardener!
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The headmaster isn’t going to step down or taking any responsibility.
He is currently busy with back-tracking everything that he said.
He told the hall filled with students that he would take responsibility and now, he says he would stay.
Such a fine example of “responsible adult”, indeed !
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three separate things i would like to share…
1st – regarding the wave thingy, i think it could be supported by this scientific statement of bernoulli principle… simply said, if a normal moving speed has been established on the channel, it will remain that unless there is a change to its width, it will definitely, somehow altered the flow or it could just speed up to compensate for the volume it loss… so i can see there is a scientific explanation to the event… and i totally agree when one mess around with mother nature, you’ll get it back from her…
2nd – yes its true, its only when things happen then only people with motives who step in to take advantage… and money… its human nature to be that way… that’s why GOD spreads moral values for HE (perhaps) forgot to put it into human when HE made us… GOD bless their souls… but the main point here is actually, Malaysia, in general, is not prepared for anything before they do anything… This including myself… Its just not our habit to prepare for the worst case scenario… We always ignore the small details in everything, particularly when it comes to planning… we always just look to the BIG PICTURE…
3rd – nvm… lost what i’m going to say 5 minutes into the comments…
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Looks like the deaths of 6 young people has become a Golden Opportunity for Lim Guan Eng to play politics:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/50336-guan-eng-calls-for-dragon-boat-tragedy-inquiry
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Such politicking can be good for Penang people. LGE’s statement in that news is fair. While elsewhere I have doubts about LGE (for example, his non-transparent expansion of developer rights), in this matter he can create value simply because he stimulates political competition.
As a non-local boy, with possibly a “subconscious” grudge against the Gerakan-leaning CLHS BOD, LGE may just help uproot or at least shake lose the deadwoods. Isn’t that what you want, Iron? However, I would hope DAP’s sometimes vengeful style does not get a free run here, ending up permanently damaging CLHS.
Overall, DAP has a selfish interest and is in a position to contest the old Penang establishment. As long as they don’t abuse their power as the state government (and start to infiltrate or co-opt the BODs themselves), they can provide the kind of competition that will ensure that neither Gerakan-UMNO or DAP will lord over us Penangites.
The old Malay proverb that “when elephants fight the mousedeers (or ants) are trampled” is wrong. A more likely outcome is that when political heavy-weights compete fairly and freely, we the people benefit. Fair competition can do wonder in politics and society, just as it can in the market.
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Another matter that I find curious is the life jacket. If the press is correct that only 3 of 15 rowers wore them, and 2 of the victims wore them, then it would appear that – at least in this case – life jacket may be connected to fatality. If such reports are correct, is it because of the mud, the barge trapping the life jacket, coincidence, or what? If true, this is an important issue to investigate.
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Dear Kah Seng,
Thank you very much for your very early morning reply.
There have been couple of assumptions on your part.
1. That politicians will play fair and non-abusively.
2. Political competition (no matter which side) within the CLHS might stimulate something good.
As far as I know — and I am yet not old enough to know everything — no politician will play fair, and once they attain the position of power, that they won’t become abusive.
Oh, there may be a few, like Gandhi, but that guy has no intention of ruling (lording) over his people in the first place.
Not LGE.
He has been groomed to take over the party, and now to hold on to his seat with whichever mean he got.
And THAT is what worrying me.
With this tragic mishap and with him taking the advantage to play politics, coupled with his lack of grey materials in between his ears, I am afraid to imagine the damage he might be causing, not only to CLHS, but to many Chinese school Board of Directors throughout Malaysia.
Do NOT ever forget that there exists a group of people waiting for the chance to close down all vernacular schools, and they will use whatever chance they got to do so.
If what LGE is doing is not checked in time, and if the outcome provides those opportunists to permanently destroy the BoD of all Chinese schools, it would be totally disastrous to all.
I know DAP from top to bottom and yes, I know LGE’s daddy too. I know them too well to trust them to handle things like BoD of CLHS.
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I harbor no dream that our politicians can be trusted.
What I trust is competition — even political competition.
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Anil,
Sorry to hijack this thread.
It’s about the dragon boat accident.
You see, Singapore’s dragon boat team also had one accident, not that long ago. In 2008.
5 of their members died, drowning. In Cambodia.
It is totally unfortunate for what happening in Penang — for OUR FAILURE OF LEARNING FROM OTHERS has resulted in the death of the six young men.
There is a very good report on what happened and subsequent follow-up on the Singaporean incident.
The report is available at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/350946/1/.html
Hope you can do a piece on this, Anil, so that Penang will NOT be doing the same mistake, AGAIN !
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