Are you a young adult…
… trying to make sense of what is happening in the world around you and wondering how you can participate in issues that matter to you? Then this event is for you.
Aliran is organising a one-day interactive workshop in Penang this Saturday (26 September) for young adults (19-35 years of age) to raise awareness of their role in good governance and how they can shape the world around them. More information here.
“Surface subway” vs Porr
Do we really need Porr and more highways if we have a bus rapid transit system like in Bogota?
Bus rapid transit vs subway
A bus rapid transit system can carry as many passengers as a subway system, as the city of Curitiba in Brazil has shown.
I like this quote in the above video clip: “The problem is not the people who use the buses but the people who use the cars.”
Sarawak: Between spin and reality
Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud has delivered a special message to mark the festive season. Among his comments is a comical demand which will no doubt add to the merriment: stop criticising the government!
According to Bernama:
“If there are (sic) chaos in the country, it will be impossible for us to celebrate any festivity. We should therefore take stock of what the government has done for us,” he said in his Hari Raya message. He also said that Malaysians were fortunate to have a prime minister “who has the qualification and a leader who cares for the people’s well-being”.These remarks coming from a Colombo Plan Australian-trained lawyer, no less.
Revitalising Prangin Canal
If Seoul can courageously dismantle a highway carrying 180,000 vehicles a day and revitalise a stream in the city centre, there is no reason why we cannot restore Prangin Canal in Penang.
Today’s guest writer is Chau Loon Wai:
A good city always provides local residents and visitors alike with quality public realms that invite people to be there – people opt to be there, instead of being there out of necessity. The Prangin Canal is one very important water body in George Town, which had unfortunately been transformed into an open sewer, then conveniently covered, which then led to it being forgotten for too long a time; perhaps many young Penangites may not even be aware of its existence.
How to improve a city within three years
Jaime Lerner, the former mayor of Curitiba who transformed the Brazilian city, says budgetary constraints can force urban planners to think more creatively about sustainable development.
Malaysia’s net FDI outflow jumps to US$6b
According to Unctad’s World Investment Report 2009 released last night, Malaysia experienced a net FDI outflow of US$6.0 billion in 2008, more than double the US$2.7 billion net outflow posted in the previous year.
Inward FDI fell to US$8.1 billion (18.4 per cent of GDP) in 2008 from US$8.4 billion (20.6 per cent of GDP) the previous year. Outward FDI, on the other hand, soared to US$14.1 billion from US$11.9 billion in 2007.
Penan sexual abuse: Piling trauma upon pain?
In response to the official investigative report confirming the sexual abuse of Penan women and girls, the Sarawak Women and Family Council appears to be ready to take action – and carry out another probe!
This from The Borneo Post:
Council ready to probe Penan women rape claim KUCHING: Members of the Sarawak Women and Family Council are prepared to go to the ground to investigate claims that Penan women were raped or sexually exploited following the findings of a taskforce set up by Women, Family and Community Development Ministry. Council chairperson Datin Fatimah Abdullah said yesterday she was still waiting for the taskforce report from the government and the police. The taskforce report has indicated that Penan women and students were indeed sexually exploited by timber workers because they are very vulnerable and also partly due to consequences of imbalanced development.
Interview with … a cow
Cows have been very much in the news, from the protest in KL to the Buah Pala evictions. On a lighter note, here’s an interview with a difference.
Arrested for trying to hand over a memo?
The highhanded police action against the 15 activists and indigenous reps in Kuching yesterday was a waste of resources.
All they wanted to do was hand over a petition to state government leaders expressing their concern over the Murum and other dams and the displacement of natives. For that, they were arrested, reportedly for illegal assembly, and later released on police bail.
The CM and his Ministers were too arrogant to even come and accept the memo. The natives have an issue that needs resolving – not arresting. This is the prevailing feeling in town, says a Kuching-based observer.
Porr to return, reclamation at Gurney Drive?
Now this is alarming: not only is the 18km tolled Penang Outer Ring Road back on the cards again, the concessionaire is reportedly seeking to reclaim 61ha of land off Gurney Drive and 142ha at Middle Bank, close to the Weld Quay jetties.
When it comes to taking a stand on Porr, is there much to separate the BN from the Pakatan state government?
‘Anak Bangsa Malaysia’ initiative launched
Rakyat@work reports on the launch of the Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative in KL while over in Penang, a smaller group met up to express solidarity:
The launch in KL – Photos by Rakyat@work
The Penang solidary gathering at a nasi kandar restaurant – Photo by Lucia Lai
Just last month, we celebrated Merdeka Day and yesterday we had Malaysia day. Really, it was by far the most subdued and lifeless ‘celebration’ I have ever experienced. Other than uncertainty in our economic challenges, we have also inherited a degenerative political disease which inflicts daily insults and threats to the rakyat. A sense of ‘hopelessness’ is slowly creeping inside our immune system. It is like getting worse day by day. Everything seems to be going backwards.
So, what’s new? Fortunately, a small flame was flickering in the darkness: the launch of a new Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative.
The Penang solidary gathering at a nasi kandar restaurant – Photo by Lucia Lai
Just last month, we celebrated Merdeka Day and yesterday we had Malaysia day. Really, it was by far the most subdued and lifeless ‘celebration’ I have ever experienced. Other than uncertainty in our economic challenges, we have also inherited a degenerative political disease which inflicts daily insults and threats to the rakyat. A sense of ‘hopelessness’ is slowly creeping inside our immune system. It is like getting worse day by day. Everything seems to be going backwards.
So, what’s new? Fortunately, a small flame was flickering in the darkness: the launch of a new Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative.
No approval for Buah Pala road closure: MPPP
The Penang Municipal Council has strongly denied that approval was given to Nusmetro to block access to Jalan Kaki Bukit, the road that passes through Kampung Buah Pala. The Council refuted the claim by the firm’s director, reported in The Star, that approval had been given.
Said the council in a statement today:
The road that was closed is a public thoroughfare and any application to close it has to be referred to the Public Works Department and the Land Office for approval.
Rebutting Jabu’s claims about the Penan
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu made some claims about the Penan while lashing out at NGOs. He said the NGOs were taking advantage of the plight of the less than three per cent of the Penan population who were still nomadic. This excerpt from the Borneo Post:
“They (negative NGOs) are living off the misery of the few, and manufactured lies. This is what we must fight. “I have known the Penan community for more than 40 years. They are striving for advancement. Only less than three per cent are still nomadic. “And it is this three per cent that the negative NGOs speak up for. Is this a fair representation when we have another 97 per cent of Penans who have settled down?” he asked. He said most of the Penans were successful people after they had followed government programmes to get them out of poverty. He said the role model for the Penans was entrepreneur Datuk Hasan Sui while the role model for the Penan villages was the one at Suai in Ulu Niah where most of its residents were driving twin-cab 4WDs. “As the Penans are members of the Dayak community, I do not want to see them being exploited,” he said.And now the reality, which I learnt from a reliable source:
“Penang” tak boleh!
Yesterday, I wrote “Penang boleh!”
I spoke too soon. It should be “Penang” tak boleh! Apparently, any group, publication or event that wants to use “Penang” in its name must now get approval from the state government?
What???
“People should know that ‘Penang’ is not a name that they can simply use,” the Chief Minister is reported as saying in theSun. “The Penang government is the sole authority to decide whether anyone can use the state brand.”
What nonsense is this? Who appointed it the sole authority? The name of a place belongs to its people, not to the state government. Just because of a few abuses, it wants to control the usage of the place-name and claim ownership over it.
And since when has Penang become a “brand”? (Want to copyright and patent it?) Such giveaway words reflect a corporate-business mentality, not a people-centred mind-set.
Penang boleh! Public road dug up, blocked
The entrance to Jalan Kaki Bukit was today dug up, blocking access to Kampung Buah Pala from the Bukit Gelugor side and inconveniencing the public.
Staking a claim: Breaking up a public road – Photo by Penang Media
Jalan Kaki Bukit links Bukit Gelugor to Jalan Yeap Chor Ee.
How is it possible that a public road could be blocked? Who is responsible for this? Is this another indication that anything goes in Penang?
Staking a claim: Breaking up a public road – Photo by Penang Media
Jalan Kaki Bukit links Bukit Gelugor to Jalan Yeap Chor Ee.
How is it possible that a public road could be blocked? Who is responsible for this? Is this another indication that anything goes in Penang?
Tanjung Tokong villagers oppose project
Kampung Tanjung Tokong residents are opposing a RM1 billion “mixed development” project managed by Uda Holdings that could affect their 200-year-old settlement.
Photo courtesy of Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi
This project is clearly a legacy of BN rule, but how will the Pakatan administration handle it?
Photo courtesy of Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi
This project is clearly a legacy of BN rule, but how will the Pakatan administration handle it?
S’wak Pakatan to ensure straight fights with BN
PKR, DAP, Snap and Pas are coming together to form the Sarawak Pakatan. The plan is to ensure straight fights with the BN in all 71 state seats when the Sarawak election is held either this year or next year.
Buah Pala villagers grapple with harsh reality
It was never meant to be this way. Valli Perumal’s father bought a house in this village when he retired in 1965 after the previous owner returned to India.
“Have you heard anything about our houses?” asks a despairing Valli Perumal – Photo by Anil
Perumal had worked with the city council and thought that the tranquil village provided an idyllic setting for his family.
His daughter, Valli, was fifteen then, and she grew up in the village, where her family reared goats for a living.
“Have you heard anything about our houses?” asks a despairing Valli Perumal – Photo by Anil
Perumal had worked with the city council and thought that the tranquil village provided an idyllic setting for his family.
His daughter, Valli, was fifteen then, and she grew up in the village, where her family reared goats for a living.