This is the third time the (toy?) monorail has been hit by problems since it was launched last October to mark Malacca being accorded “developed state” status.
Two British tourists being rescued after the Malacca monorail ground to a halt on 1 November 2011 - Photograph: The Star
There, it didn’t take long for the RM16 million ‘toy’ monorail in Malacca to grind to a screeching halt. Penang, which is still grappling with the idea of rail transit, can learn from Malacca’s costly experiment with monorail.
Embarrassingly, a skylift had to be used to rescue 20 stranded passengers from a monorail coach, just 100 metres from the station. The launch of the monorail had been timed to mark Malacca’s recognition as a ‘developed state’.
There’s some poetic justice in there somewhere, especially when you consider the unequal heritage conservation funding allocations for the two historical cities.
Malacca monorail by night as seen from a boat cruising along the Malacca River
So what’s going to happen to the RM13 million extension plan under phase two of the Malacca monorail? Continue reading »
The federal government’s double standards in the allocation of funding for conservation and revitalisation projects in Penang and Malacca are disturbing. Malacca receives RM30 million while Penang gets only RM20 million.
First, the disparity in the amounts given is hard to understand, given that Penang has the largest collection of pre-war shop-houses in the region. Unless the reason is political – you know, Malacca comes under BN and Penang under Pakatan.
Second, the RM20 million for Penang doesn’t go to the state government but to Think City. Now, Think City is a wholly owned special purpose vehicle established by Khazanah Nasional Berhad (under the Finance Ministry) to implement and manage a so-called ‘George Town Grants Programme’.
View ThinkCity Physical Projects Map Round 1 & 2 in a larger map
