Amidst the doom and gloomily, we have this … a world-class performance by the Borneo-born Kuala Lumpur-based Alena Murang, who also plays the sape, and her team.
A Nelayan Story in Penang Hokkien
This is a video by independent filmmaker Andrew Ng. Subtitles in Malay and English are available.
He also came out with video critique (below) of the promotion of the three islands project to be created under Penang South Islands (PSI) or Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.
Critics say the acronym should more appropriately be known as Penang South Islands Reclamation or PaSIR (sand – as in sand mining or pouring sand in the fishermen’s rice bowls).
And here’s a bonus video:
Never again should Parliament be suspended!
Dramatic scenes in Parliament today, and Aliran has just issued a response:
Aliran is appalled to learn that the government surreptitiously revoked all six emergency ordinances ahead of the reconvening of the long-suspended Parliament.
The government claims it revoked the ordinances on 21 July. This was apparently done by stealth as there was reportedly nothing in the government gazette at 1pm today to show the ordinances had been revoked.
This revocation appears aimed at pre-empting the requirement under Article 150(3) of the Federal Constitution for the proclamation of emergency and the ordinances to be tabled before the Houses of Parliament for a debate. The government was probably not confident it had enough support to pass the resolutions on them.
The backdoor revocation of the emergency ordinances before they could be tabled in Parliament also suggests that the government is afraid of an examination of its record during emergency rule. Clearly, it has failed in managing the Covid crisis, which has spun out of control during the period Parliament was suspended from 12 January. Full statement on Aliran website
And Mahiaddin just disappears from Parliament soon after. Read this.
What do you make of today’s events? One thing we must all be vigilant about is that we must never allow our parliamentary democracy to be hijacked by vested interests, including lobby groups and corporate interests.
Oi, you think we don’t know?
A silver lining to the grim impact of the ‘full’ and partial lockdowns is the emergence of new, youthful talents almost every day. This emergence of fresh voices – at a time when the entire system has been shaken to its core – gives me much hope for a more vibrant, inclusive nation.
Interfaith effort to help overstretched hospitals
Earlier today, a good friend of mine texted me: “Really very sad to see the situation in hospitals … It’s seriously scary!!! I cry for my country.”
‘Now they are stealing ikan kembung’
Another reason why we should not carry out the Penang South Reclamation.
Climate change warning in Penang: Chickens coming home to roost?
“One month’s rainfall in two hours” – where have we heard that before?. Yes, we heard something similar in the wake of the heavy downpours on 15 September 2017 and 4 November 2017. Back then, I wrote we should get used to it, with climate change looming and rainfall intensity rising.
Heating up: Campaign to stop Penang’s mega-reclamation goes national
Look what was featured on Astro Awani tonight. You decide which side sounds more convincing.
This is only a snapshot of what’s wrong with the mega-reclamation off the southern coast of Penang Island.
Penang mega-reclamation: Three questions
Here are three burning questions that need to be answered:
1. Can the state justify its population projection for the three islands to reach 446,000 by 2030, as stated in the environmental impact assessment report? Where are these people coming from considering it took over 200 years for Penang Island to reach 700,000-plus?
2. Can the state explain how it will fund the PTMP projects, which will cost billions, when its expected net revenue from reclaiming half of Island A would probably be about RM600m in seven to 10 years’ time? This is equivalent to about one year of Penangs state’s revenue. However, the environmental damage and social losses would cost many times as much, if they are truly accounted for
3. Can the state explain how the costs of the Penang South Reclamation has escalated from RM8bn for two islands (totalling 1,428ha) in 2015 to RM7bn for half an island (only 485ha) in 2021?
Concern over land reclamation
Found this extract in Kit Siang’s blog in 2014, when he expressed concern about a large reclamation project at Gelang Patah. Hopefully, his advice will remind all those indulging in such projects about the need to preserve our fisheries:
“I was puzzled and worried – once the reclamation is completed later, can these fishermen still look for fish on the reclaimed brown land which was blue sea before? How are they and their children to compete with foreign workers in order to land a job at the construction sites? Where is the kampung after all?
Coastal Fishermen and Fisheries
They are small coastal fishermen. The Department of Fisheries statistics tells us that there are 613 fishermen in western Johor Bahru, of which 415 are Malays, 147 Orang Aslis and 51 Chinese. Gelang Patah is the main fisheries centre of the western part of Johore Bahru. In the area of Pendas and Tanjung Kupang alone, there are some 250 coastal fishermen and 95% of them Malays.
Fishing might not be the dream job for everyone. The coastal fishermen go to the sea in small boats with outboard engines to fish by using small nets or traditional fishing tools. They are not the relatively well-off trawl boat fishermen with large boats, trawl nets and modern gears. But without these coastal fishermen braving the waves and baking under the hot sun, there will be no fish and prawns as sources of affordable food and nutritious protein for us.
Fisheries contributes to about 1% of GDP for Malaysia. But the contribution of coastal fishermen to our society, and their important role in shaping Malaysian culture and identity, cannot be assessed and valued based solely on the GDP numbers.”