“It is a sad day when we see two architectural treasures within the George Town World Heritage Site, Convent Light Street and Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, vandalised by Malaysians to make racial political statements.”
Graffiti on the perimeter wall of Convent Light Street - Photograph: Penang Heritage Trust
The head of both the municipal councils in Penang are now women with the appointment of urban planner Maimunah Mohd Shariff as the new president of the Seberang Perai Municipal Council.
Today happens to be International Women’s Day. So this is good news to mark this day.
Butterworth and BM and other parts of the mainland really need someone to look carefully at urban planning. I hope the MPSP will do something about the entire beach-front of Butterworth (particularly the mess along the ironically named Pantai Bersih), the poor condition of drainage, and the lack of green spaces for recreation. Continue reading »
Only two of the 10 nominees chosen during the Penang Forum elections were appointed as councillors of the MPPP and MPSP in 2011.
They are Dr Tiun Ling Ta (MPSP) and Dr Lim Mah Hui (MPPP). That’s one out of 24 councillors in each of the MPPP and MPSP.
But the candidate who received the most number of votes for MPPP, Teo Lee Ken, was ignored. And so was Siva, an experienced lawyer who received the second highest number of votes for MPSP. Is the state government not interested in having more independent-minded councillors who can demand greater accountability and transparency without having to worry about upsetting party bosses?
Some decent and qualified candidates were chosen among the 10 during the Penang Forum elections, which broadened the selection process. So it’s disappointing that most of the candidates finally selected by the state government are political party appointees. Continue reading »
