The #PenangTolakTambak (Penang Rejects Reclamation) campaign received a major boost today when Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah came out with a strong commentary calling for the cancellation of the ecologically damaging Penang South Reclamation mega-project.
The project aims to create three artificial islands spanning 4,500 acres that will destroy prime fishing waters.
Tajuddin Rahman’s appalling conduct at a press conference on 25 May after a collision between two light rail trains the night before outraged many viewers.
The Prasarana chairman’s condescending dismissiveness of reporters’ probing questions, his lack of empathy for the victims and his sneering remark with racial overtones towards a woman reporter from China were apparent for all to see.
With his appalling conduct, he unwittingly succeeded in uniting the nation in the public backlash that followed. This was clear when stand-up comic Douglas Lim received many positive comments from a multiracial audience for taking the mickey out of Tajuddin’s appalling press conference in a spoof. Full article on Aliran website
Look at this photo of Gurney Drive, probably in the 1970s. It is hard to imagine we had a lovely beach in the city of George Town, Penang, once. People happily swimming in clear waters. A day out for families. Some buying fresh wild-caught fish directly from inshore fisherfolk. You can’t get fish fresher than that!
And the photo below is from the 1930s:
Now, after degrading this beach, we want to spend billions of ringgit trying to create an artificial “Gurney Wharf”, which is supposed to give city folk an artificial beach (which we once had for free), and a massive eight-lane coastal highway. (In reality, the real purpose of this reclamation is the high-density property development planned on reclaimed land from near the Gurney Drive roundabout to Gurney Plaza.) Full article on Aliran website
“Tell Me” is the talented singer Amirah’s second single. It was originally composed in Malay and entitled “Katakanlah”.
Amirah writes:
With the global pandemic and political turmoil, I felt this song could not wait any longer. It is more important now than ever for us to unite. In this song, I asked questions: Are we our name? Our face? Our religion? Our race? It saddens me greatly when I see people in conflict because of the differences in their skin colour, religion, race, status, nationality, gender and sexual orientation.
Lyricist: Amirah, Amy Powers
Publisher: Amirah360 Publishing
You can follow Amirah on her Instagram, Facebook or Facebook Unity Group.
This is her earlier song from 2020:
It’s almost as if they are popping up in Teluk Kumbar in southern Penang Island to highlight the threat to marine biodiversity that the massive land reclamation projects pose. Penang is ground zero of the reclamation madness and greed that has swept across the west coast of peninsula Malaysia – the other affected areas being Langkawi, Malacca and Johor.
#TolakTambak
Penang Forum has just released a statement on the contractor-and developer-led proposal dubbed “Penang Transport Master Plan”, which in reality was driven by land reclamation interests.
Check out the statement here.
With Pas now allying itself with Bersatu in PN, it is game on for the coming general election. The lines have been drawn (well, not quite, but still…).
World no. 10 Lee Zii Jia has arrived on the world stage in style, giving the entire country a lift, as he edged out world no. 2 Viktor Axelsen to clinch the All-England men’s singles badminton crown. Lee is coached by Tey Seu Bock and Indonesia’ Hendrawan under national coaching director Wong Choon Hann. He was previously trained by Misbun Sidek and Indonesia’s Indra Wijaya.
In the quarter-finals, Lee ousted world no. 1 Kento Momota 21-16, 21-19, whom he had never taken a game off in six previous encounters. So the new champion’s triumph is no fluke.
It was a good day for Malaysian coaches abroad as well. Japan under Tan Kim Her (men’s doubles) and Jeremy Gan (mixed doubles) triumphed in all-Japan finals in the two events.
Japan, coached by South Korea’s Park Joo Bong, who once trained the Malaysian team, is undoubtedly a new powerhouse in world badminton, winning four of the five final events – three of them all-Japan finals, in the absence of China and Indonesia.
But Lee’s breakthrough win has shown us the power of perseverance and determination against the odds. It has rallied the nation together, breaking down ethnic and religious barriers, at a time of so much divisiveness.
Now let’s hope for Parliament to reconvene soon, so that our elected representatives can put their minds together to break through the political stalemate that is dragging the nation down.
So what do you make of this? Does it matter if they still insist on the massive reclamation in southern Penang Island and all their other unsustainable mega-projects when so many ordinary people are struggling to get by? #PenangTolakTambak #StopPIL
ELECTION RESULTS (TOP 15)
Chow Kon Yeow 1,211
Phee Boon Poh 1,041
Lay Hock Peng 1,038
Lim Hui Ying, 980
Zairil Khir Johari 920
Teh Lai Heng 916
Steven Sim 890
Jason H’ng 888
P Ramasamy 826
Soon Lip Chee 811
Yeoh Soon Hin 773
Wong Hong Wai 735
Phee Boon Chee 734
RSN Rayer 659
Jagdeep Singh Deo 655
What do you make of this? Do you think Pakatan Harapan or PKR should cooperate with Umno? What would their ideological platform be, given the track record of both sides? Good governance, anti-corruption, constitutional provisions. But this is vague, without going into specifics.
It looks as if things (fires and hill clearings) have been happening on the hills of Penang while the rest of us are under lockdown. This statement has just been released by the Tanjung Bunga Residents Association:
In Part One, we looked at the failure of the Barisan Nasional government in Penang to move towards sustainable mobility.
Now, let’s look at the Pakatan Harapan’s record since 2008, when it captured power in Penang.
The Penang government got off on the right foot and in 2009, set up the Penang Transport Council, which included civil society representatives.
This council proposed that the state government come up with a transport masterplan for the state.
Heeding the call, the state government and the Northern Corridor Implementation Agency, on 27 April 2011, appointed AJC Planning Consultants Sdn Bhd, Halcrow and the Singapore Cruise Centre to produce a masterplan. Full article on Aliran website
https://www.wildstrawberrylodge.com/three-days-left/
It was bemusing to see politicians on both sides of the political divide engaged in a recent war of words about saving the Penang ferries.
Both sides seemed to agree that these “‘iconic heritage ferries” should be saved or showcased elsewhere so that foreign tourists and local visitors could take joy rides.
But let’s be clear from the outset. The vast majority of daily riders on the ferries – whether passengers or motorists – are local residents from Penang, either going to work or running some personal errand or on weekend trips. From my observation, they far outnumber tourists and out-of-town visitors, who use the ferries mainly during school holidays, weekend breaks and festive periods.
So the premise for saving the old ferry service – for tourism purposes – starts on the wrong footing.
The hastily introduced boats are a poor substitute for the ferries, not to mention hardly friendly to people with disabilities. A crowd of people in an enclosed cabin with not much physical distancing is not ideal, unlike the old airy ferries where there was plenty of room for passengers with sea air freely circulating through the upper and lower decks. Full article on Aliran website
https://thisiskettering.com/accutane-pills/
A worrying development. Is the emergency motivated by politics or the pandemic?
This is the latest statement by Aliran on the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency:
Not long before Rustam Sani passed away in 2008, I met him in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
Do you all remember Amirah? She’s back with another haunting song, this time about our land.
Something happened over the last few years which has slipped largely unnoticed.
It has been a grim year for many of us and for Malaysia and for the rest of the word. Let’s hope the coming year will bring happier tidings for more justice, freedom and solidarity in Malaysia and beyond.
This has been an eventful year for all of us, not just for Aliran. We had the Sheraton Move at the worst possible time in February, when the coronavirus pandemic had begun spreading in Malaysia.