Penang Hill Railway ‘upgrade’: From RM40m to RM73m

Initial news reports for the Penang Hill Railway ‘upgrade’ had mentioned an allocation of RM40m. But later news reports put the cost at RM63m and finally RM73m.

How many billions would it take to wipe out Sarawak poverty?

Some of us might think that it could take several billion ringgit to wipe out poverty in Sarawak. Not really.

Flaws in ‘upgraded’ Penang Hill Railway

I ran into a visitor who had taken a ride on the ‘upgraded’ Penang Hill railway and he made the following observations:

Judge dismisses Eskay’s RM20m ‘commission’ claim

The Malaysian government would do well to heed Justice V T Singham’s views in his dismissal of the lawsuit brought by Eskay (of ‘Datuk T’ fame) claiming RM20m in commission from the developer of the ‘crooked bridge’ project.

Singapore general election: Democracy rising

It’s just two more days to polling day in Singapore – and the democratic awakening sweeping across the world has not left the island republic untouched. “Singapore is a country – not a company,” says private teacher Michelle Lee, speaking at an opposition SDP rally
An opposition rally in Singapore

TBRA fails in legal challenge

The Tanjung Bunga Residents Association has been thwarted in its legal challenge against the state government’s gazetting of Tanjung Bunga as a primary corridor for development instead of a secondary corridor.

‘Upgraded’ Penang Hill railway shut for repairs

What, already? I think there’s a story in here somewhere. The Penang Hill Corporation has issued a statement. Notice these lines in particular, which suggest that all is not well:
Repair work is further hampered by lack of spare parts from the train supplier. The full inventory of spares especially power pick-ups, has still not been given. The situation is further aggravated by the lack of information in dealing with the supplier. Documents and contracts on the upgrading works of the new train and rail are still not in the Corporation’s possession despite repeated requests and reminders. If the power pick-ups and spare parts were available, the Penang Hill Corporation would have been able to repair the train much quicker.

Penang Bridge disappointments

Liaw Yew Peng was chief resident engineer of the first Penang Bridge in the 1980s and speaks about some of his happy memories – and disappointments.

8-9 lanes of traffic into Penang Island

If you think Penang is already congested, well, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Three more lanes of traffic will pour into Penang Island once the second bridge is completed by 2013, if all goes as scheduled – adding to the three lanes of incoming traffic on the now widened existing Penang Bridge. And if the cross-channel tunnel project from Gurney Drive to Butterworth goes ahead, which could add another two or three lanes of incoming traffic, we could see eight to nine lanes of incoming traffic choking the island by 2020. Click on the icon at the bottom right to expand the slideshow to full-screen mode

Sarawak Pakatan’s shadow cabinet proposal

In a step closer towards a two-coalition system in Sarawak, Sarawak Pakatan has come up with a 16-member shadow cabinet for the state.

21 arrested at KL May Day gathering

Twenty one people were arrested during a peaceful Workers’ Day gathering in KL. Not the best way for the government to observe this day in honour of ordinary workers. Among those arrested are Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and several other top PSM leaders, including its secretary general S Arutchelvan.

Green consciousness triumphs as Perak rare earth MOU is scrapped

Eleven days – that’s all it took for people power to pressure the Perak government and a ‘Hong Kong’ firm to terminate their MOU for a rare earth exploration project in Bukit Merah.

People’s Green Coalition formed

In a sign of an emerging ecological consciousness, a people’s green coalition has been formed to strengthen the green political agenda in Malaysia.

600000 Malaysians in Singapore?

Some 600000 Malaysians may be living and working in Singapore, which has a population of just over 5 million.

Penang-B’worth tunnel MOU signed

The Penang government intends to build a 6.5km tunnel from Gurney Drive to Butterworth, in addition to earlier announced highway-tunnel stretches.

Penang Transport Master Plan tender awarded

The Penang state government has awarded a RM3.2m tender for a Penang Transport Master Plan study to a planning and urban design firm based in Petaling Jaya.

It’s all about authenticity

Tunglang moves from describing authentic street food to talking about authentic forms of worship. From the way he describes it, it’s not such a great leap, as we might think.
Time has changed many things, many perceptions, many tastes and many lifestyles.

More commuters using Penang Bridge shuttle bus

More commuters are using the Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (Best) service across the Penang Bridge during peak hours. 1 March – Less than 100 commuters when service was launched 31 March – 400 commuters daily 22 April – 800 commuters daily*

Special Area Plan for Botanic Garden

A Special Area Plan will be developed for the Penang Botanic Garden, hopefully putting an end to the fiascoes we have seen in the garden in recent years.

Penang:Highway-tunnel plan a short-term solution

RM4bn for 8.8km of tunnels and highways? That’s what the Penang state government has in mind with two short stretches of tunnels and elevated highways.
The proposed roads shown against the alignment of the controversial and aborted Penang Outer Ring Road project