Does Penang need a new airport?
Our guest writer today is Roger Teoh, who is doing his PhD in transport studies in Imperial College in London:
Ignoring Penang NGOS, copying Hong Kong-style ‘development’?
The chief minister has said that if Hong Kong had taken the advice of Penang NGOs to stop all development following landslides, it would not be as developed as it was today. He said Hong Kong learned the lessons of a major landslide and soon came up with solutions.
Karpal (2002): Compensate property owners affected by Penang highway noise pollution
“Those whose property is not acquired but nevertheless are affected by the PORR [Penang Outer Ring Road] project with drop in prices of their property and the consequent noise and pollution which will be a result of the project should also be compensated,” said Karpal Singh in a press statement 16 years ago.
DAP calls for new EIA on Penang Hill project – in 1990!
It is fascinating what some people continue to dig up. This excellent statement below was issued by the then DAP secretary-general, MP for Tanjung and parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang on 28 September 1990.
Widen the scope of penalty for blocking and damaging public spaces
This is a statement released by Penang Forum:
Penang Forum welcomes and commends the Pakatan Harapan government for passing a bill to significantly raise the fine for firms that damage any street, five-foot ways, verandah or property belonging to local authorities or block pavements.
Requiem for CAT, as protesters slam unsustainable ‘development’ in Penang
Among the victims of the Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy on 19 October was a cat, which succumbed a couple of days after being pulled out of from mounds of fallen earth and rocks. This morning, a group of environmentally conscious Penangites gathered across the road from Penang State Assembly and used the dead cat as a metaphor to mourn the demise of competence, accountability and transparency (CAT) in the state.
There goes Penang Hill – two new hotels coming up
While the Bukit Kukus tragedy is still fresh on our minds, plans to build two new hotels on Penang Hill have finally been unveiled.
Why the minimum wage should be RM1,800 today – not RM1,100
Wishing all readers a Happy Deepavali and hope you are having a wonderful break.
Some of you have asked for some thoughts on Budget 2018.
Well, first thing, let’s take a look at the monthly minimum wage, which has been raised by a further RM50 to RM1,100, the second increase in the year.
More trees chopped down
These are trees chopped down a couple of days ago in the Peirce Road area not from from Island Hospital. How many more roadside trees do we have to lose due to road widening or massive property development before we realise the intrinsic value of our trees?
These two simple charts destroy the myth that Penang needs more highways
The chart above by Penang Forum shows us that cars make up 96% of the modal share in Penang compared with just 33% in Singapore.
Rise of green movement fills opposition vacuum in Penang
The Malaysian Insight did a series of articles on Penang recently, and as part of their journalistic work, they asked me what I thought about the civil society response to what is happening here. This is what I told them:
In the 2018 general election, the opposition parties in Penang received a drubbing and are either demoralised or ineffective now.
Ladies and gentleman, we have arrived at Penang International Airport
This is our “iconic” international airport at Pulau Pinang “Darul Banjir”. Let’s clear more hills, build and widen more roads, and pave paradise.
Let’s say they go ahead with that expensive RM8bn elevated LRT from the airport to George Town. Just think… passengers arriving at the airport can be transported by gondolas to the LRT station.
Imagine, we could turn Penang airport into something like St Mark’s Square at the Las Vegas Venetian Hotel and Casino, like this:
(That blue sky in the video is artificial. The whole set is indoors. Likewise, we can create a haze-free blue sky inside Penang airport.)
Then, while cruising in the elevated LRT heading to Komtar, (assuming the LRT can still move in the floods), passengers can enjoy a bird’s eye view of the panoramic Pearl of the Orient Venice of the East without getting their feet wet.
Just think how many more tourists will flock to Penang.
Include Penang Forum in panel probing Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy
The latest statement from Penang Forum:
Penang Forum deeply regrets the tragic loss of lives in the Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy on 19 October 2018, which claimed nine or more lives, just one year after the Granito landslide tragedy, which claimed 11 or more lives.
Concerned Penangites hold vigil outside Town Hall as city councillors meet
A vigil in solidarity with the landslide victims was held at the Penang Town Hall this morning (see above) while inside the building the Penang Island City Council was holding its full council meeting. Later, three representatives from the vigil were allowed in to submit a memorandumto the major who said the council would also be probing the incident.
Disturbed by official comments in recent days, soil scientist Dr Kam Suan Pheng has sent in this commentary:
Penang landslide: The ‘elephant’ on the hill
Some have described the politicians’ responses in trying to deflect the blame for the landslide down the line as “tai chi”. But a friend who practises tai chi told me that this ancient Chinese exercise for health of mind, body and spirit is too wholesome an activity to be used as an analogy for the blame game that is going on. So perhaps the elephant and the blindfolded men above might be a more apt depiction of the recent blinkered statements by those in positions of power.
The following is a response by Rexy Prakash Chacko, joint coordinator of Penang Hills Watch, a Penang Forum initiative, to recent quotes in a press report.
Penang landslide: Stop passing the buck
Another statement from Penang Forum:
It is with great sadness that Penang Forum is issuing this press statement about the Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy.
Danger still lurks at Bukit Kukus landslide site
So… a body has been found, which was not listed as missing. What was he doing at the site? Was this an undocumented worker? And are there more who are missing? This raises the question of the status of workers in the construction industry.
Meanwhile, Penang Forum has just released this statement, warning that dangers still lurk at the Bukit Kukus landslide area. Did they really check for hidden streams in the area? And they still want to proceed with all these projects? What is driving them? Is it greed, pride, money or what? If an MPPP project can end up like this, how can we hope that the council can monitor other projects closely…
Killer landslide: Stop hill-slope development projects immediately
Aliran has just released this statement:
Aliran is appalled at the loss of workers’ lives in a landslide at the Bukit Kukus paired road construction site in Penang. The landslide brought down several containers and wooden shacks, claiming at least seven lives with another three victims still missing and injuring three people.
Concerned Penangites hold vigil for landslide victims
A group of Penangites held a vigil this evening for the workers who lost their lives in the Bukit Kukus landslide on Friday afternoon and the Tanjung Bungah landslide victims at the Granito construction site exactly a year ago.