Public meetings for lamp-posts – but not for PGCC

Anil Netto
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gold bazaar penang A few years ago, the government allocated funds to turn parts of the area around Jalan Kapitan Keling in Penang into a “Gold Bazaar”. According to Seri:
…the Gold Bazaar was proposed by former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad after a trip to Dubai and upon being told that the majority of the jewellery on display were from Penang, Malaysia. Having seen the vast market potential, it was then proposed that the areas of Jalan Kapitan Keling, Buckingham Street and Campbell Street be gazetted as the Gold Bazaar of Penang. (In 2004), the Federal Government allocated RM6 million to start the project.
Never mind how the project turned out – I haven’t heard anyone talking about the “Gold Bazaar”, so that is an indication – but what is relevant to the PGCC is that the council invited the local business community, the Penang Heritage Trust and environmentalists for discussions on the project. I understand this was not required by law, but the council, to its credit, allowed some measure of public participation. Imagine, this could be done for a project worth only a few million ringgit.
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Amidst the judicial shambles, a stunning Federal Court decision

Anil Netto
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All that bad news about the judiciary and the shambles it is in. Yet, amidst the uproar and outrage (and rightfully so) over the Lingam tape, there was much cause for rejoicing especially in Sarawak: a sweet victory for natives over the Sarawak state government on the issue of native customary rights, courtesy of a landmark Federal Court decision. Thanks to a reader for sending this news item to me with the following comments:
This was a bit dicey — but now, this is the end of the line for the Sarawak government’s position; the State AG, if he repeats the position he has been stating all this time, will be in breach of the law as this is now the law of the land. It is truly a great victory for the natives and for customary rights. Congratulations to the Federal Court.
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Guitarist-singer Alfred Ho turns to blogging, opposition politics

Anil Netto
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Just received the following in the mail:
Dear Anil, Allow me to introduce myself. I am a blind individual in my 50s, and a singer, guitarist by profession. Just like yourself and many other right-thinking Malaysians, I am truly fed up of the Barisan government what, with their many unjust policies. Needless to say, their corrupt practices know no bounds, and their divide-and-rule policies are most despicable to say the least. For your information, I have placed numerous comments over Malaysiatoday. By the way, I have enjoyed reading some of your articles both over Malaysiatoday and Malaysiakini respectively. Do keep up with your writings, for who knows, you might just be able to wake up more Malaysians from their slumber. Finally, Anil, I wish to inform you that I have started a blog where I talk about retro music and about my political views. On my blog, you will find newspaper articles about my profession and letters that I have written to numerous government officials for assistance, but who have chosen to ignore my pleas for help. My blog address is as follows alfredhosinger.blogspot.com Please feel free to visit my blog.. .Looking forward to your early reply. Yours sincerely, Alfred Ho
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Penangites fume over PGCC deception at packed forum

Anil Netto
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PGCC forum crowd Angry and disgusted: Strong views from Penangites Before the public forum this morning, organisers in the PGCC Campaign Group, a network of activists representing more than half a dozen Penang-based NGOs, were privately fretting over whether they would get a decent turnout at the seminar rooms of the Dewan Sri Pinang. They needn’t have worried. Close to 300 people showed up to express their concern and disgust over the implications of the proposed Penang Global City Centre, referred to by some as the “Penang Graveyard and Crematorium Complex” due to its proximity to the Batu Gantong crematorium and the Western Road cemetery, not to mention its resemblance to an array of tombstones. Extra chairs had to be brought in, and even these were not enough and some had to stand at the back and at the sides of the hall. These concerned Penangites sacrificed their Sunday morning and spent an hour and a half listening to two panel speakers before taking to the floor to express their own strong views against the PGCC.
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PGCC and the “National Policy on the Environment”

Anil Netto
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A reader has alerted me to a creature known as the National Policy on the Environment. It can be found on the Mida website. Just one question: do you think the PGCC complies with it – especially the bit about “ensuring the highest commitment to environmental protection and accountability by all decision-makers in the public and private sectors, resource users, non-governmental organisations and the general public in formulating, planning and implementing their activities”?
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PGCC: Now you don’t see it…

Anil Netto
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Turf club land The Penang Turf Club land as it stands now (without the Penang Global City Centre) in the distance as seen from Komtar.
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Angry Penangites speak out against PGCC

Anil Netto
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Sentiment against the PGCC is clearly running high, judging from the angry and disgusted comments I have been receiving from concerned Penangites. Here’s a sample of comments: Regarding the sale of the Turf Club land, the sale of the Batu Kawan land etc:
What exactly was the role of the Penang Development Corporation in all this? How did rank outsider Patrick Lim get the better of Ananda Krishnan, who was eyeing another KLCC-type deal, in acquiring the Turf Club land? Who chairs the PDC Board? Who decides on re-zoning? It’s time the State government came clean on this, don’t you think? The PDC or its chairman and the Chief Minister should be invited to the PGCC Campaign forum this Sunday to explain the role of the state in this project.
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Aliran Monthly contributor John Hilley arrested near Glasgow

Anil Netto
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The Glasgow-based political scientist and activist, John Hilley, who writes on global justice issues for Aliran Monthly, was among over 170 peaceful protesters arrested in Faslane, 25 miles from Glasgow, on 1 Oct 2007, at the culmination of a year-long protest against the siting of Trident missiles at a naval base there. He tells me it was an “uplifting experience” and you can see why from the video clip above.
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Attack on Iran foiled?

Anil Netto
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While our attention was focused on Burma, a dramatic incident took place in the Middle East: Israel’s air-strike on a reputed Syrian nuclear facility on 6 September. The Israelis appear to have coordinated the raid with the White House, says Jonathan Cook. “The reasoning was simple: before an attack on Iran could be countenanced, Hizbullah in Lebanon had to be destroyed and Syria at the very least cowed. The plan was to isolate Tehran on these two other hostile fronts before going in for the kill.” Well, we know that Bush and the neo-cons have been itching to take on Iran – and it could happen sooner than we think. But the Wayne Madsen Report makes a stunning claim: A major US attack on Iran using nuclear and conventional weapons was scheduled to coincide with Israel’s 6 Sept strike on the reputed Syrian facility in Dayr az-Zwar, near the the Turkish border. Israel’s attack, code named Operation Orchard, was to provide a reason for the US to strike Iran. But it was apparently foiled when the US Air Force and intelligence community allegedly refused to fly cruise missiles with nuclear war heads to the Middle East. But was there even more to this than met the eye?
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Have the generals won in Burma?

Anil Netto
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So thousands of heavily armed soldiers are patrolling the streets of the Burmese capital, Rangoon, forcing the peaceful protesters off the streets. Have the hopes and prayers for democracy in Burma been totally crushed? Have the pro-democracy protesters been defeated? Not by a long shot.

When a government resorts to bullets and clubs to suppress peaceful demonstrators, you know they have lost all moral authority and it is just a matter of time before the regime is dumped into the ash heap of history.

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PGCC: It’s 40 towers, not 37

Anil Netto
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So the latest count is 40 towers of more than 10 storeys each, higher than our earlier estimate of 37 towers.

This is the count, based on the permission plan. Download the plan below by clicking on the link and note the 5-storey podiums for car parks in this “zero-carbon” city.

PGCC permission plan

PGCC: There go the angsana trees

Anil Netto
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angsana My sources tell me that the PGCC developer’s consultants said yesterday they would avoid cutting down the trees along Scotland Road but admitted that some angsana trees would have to make way for the road widening/flyover work, especially near the Jalan Batu Gantong junction, to cope with the extra traffic anticipated. These trees are actually heritage trees. Some concerned Penangites pasted posters (see picture above) on the trees likely to be affected. One person who has seen the plan told me that perhaps a few dozen trees would have to be chopped down. By this morning, the posters had disappeared. The threat to the trees flies in the face of the assurance given by PGCC master-planner Nasrine Seraji, which was reported in the New Straits Times:
Paris-based architect Nasrine Seraji also gave the assurance that the angsana trees along Jalan Scotland would not have to make way for the project. “Residents in the neighbouring Jesselton area can also expect a better view, improved air quality and enhanced property values,” she said here yesterday.
(Have I taken her comments out of context?!)
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Lawyers’ march, Burma’s struggle, PGCC campaign all related

Anil Netto
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PGCC miniature model
This is a more realistic miniature model of what the PGCC will look like – Awful!
What do the lawyers marching in Putrajaya, the ordinary people struggling for democracy in Burma and those campaigning against the Penang Global City Centre Project have in common? They are all part of the global justice movement, trying to create a real alternative to the decaying structures and oppressive forces in society. Trying to build a more just and sustainable world – a world where human dignity is respected and no one is oppressed. A world where the environment – God’s gift to humanity – is considered sacred. So congratulations to the 1,500 courageous Malaysians who marched in Putrajaya despite the obstacles in their path. Even though the police stopped the buses from entering Putrajaya, the lawyers got off and started walking. As lawyers committed to the cause of justice, you have given all Malaysians a ray of hope. You have lit a candle – nay, a thousand five hundred candles – in the darkness that shrouds our land. Let’s continue to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (Read Aliran president P Ramakrishnan’s latest statement rejecting the 3-man “independent” panel, headed by Haidar, who played an appalling role in the 1988 judicial crisis.)
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Malaysians, Burmese march for democracy

Anil Netto
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Monks have been leading tens of thousands of people as protests rock Burma
People are on the march in both Malaysia and Burma in their quest for justice and freedom. The Malaysian Bar Council is organising a march of lawyers from the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya to the Prime Minister’s Office on the morning of Wed, 26 Sept after the explosive revelations in a widely circulated videoclip. They are expected to be joined by activists and other concerned Malaysians. This is a piece I wrote for Asia Times Online:
Malaysia’s judiciary on Candid Camera By Anil Netto PENANG, Malaysia – On May 27, 1988, then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, his party faced with a legal challenge from rivals that threatened his leadership, summoned Malaysia’s top judge, Salleh Abas, and gave him an ultimatum: resign or face a judicial tribunal. That secret private meeting led to suspension of Salleh and five other top judges (three of whom were later reinstated). It precipitated a crisis from which the judiciary has never recovered. Today, the once-powerful Mahathir, 82, is under sedation in intensive care after surgery to treat a infection following a heart-bypass operation on September 4. And today, the credibility of the judiciary itself is also on life support after explosive revelations in a widely circulated (including on YouTube) eight-minute video clip featuring what appears to be a well-connected senior lawyer, V K Lingam, purportedly discussing promotions and factionalism among senior judges over the phone with Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, the No 3 judge in the country at the time the clip was recorded on a mobile phone in 2002. Full article
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PGCC and CGCC

Anil Netto
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Well, you all know what PGCC is by now – the massive RM25 billion Penang Greenwash… err, I mean Global… City Centre project. And CGCC? That’s Catastrophic Global Climate Change. If we go ahead with PGCC, it would only add to CGCC. If you are not convinced that building 37 “tombstones” (high-rise towers) on the Penang Turf Club green space is a terrible idea, then consider this dire warning published in the Independent:

‘Too late to avoid global warming,’ say scientists

By Cahal Milmo

Published: 19 September 2007
A rise of two degrees centigrade in global temperatures – the point considered to be the threshold for catastrophic climate change which will expose millions to drought, hunger and flooding – is now “very unlikely” to be avoided, the world’s leading climate scientists said yesterday…. In its latest assessment of the progress of climate change, the body said: “If warming is not kept below two degrees centigrade, which will require the strongest mitigation efforts, and currently looks very unlikely to be achieved, the substantial global impacts will occur, such as species extinctions, and millions of people at risk from drought, hunger, flooding.” Under the scale of risk used by IPCC, the words “very unlikely” mean there is just a one to 10 per cent chance of limiting the global temperature rise to two degrees centigrade or less. Professor Martin Parry, a senior Met Office scientist and co-chairman of the IPCC committee which produced the report, said he believed it would now be “very difficult” to achieve the target and that governments need to combine efforts to “mitigate” climate change by reducing CO2 emissions with “adaptation” to tackle active consequences such as crop failure and flooding. Speaking at the Royal Geographical Society, he said: “Ten years ago we were talking about these impacts affecting our children and our grandchildren. Now it is happening to us.” “Even if we achieve a cap at two degrees, there is a stock of major impacts out there already and that means adaptation. You cannot mitigate your way out of this problem… The choice is between a damaged world or a future with a severely damaged world.” The IPCC assessment states that up to two billion people worldwide will face water shortages and up to 30 per cent of plant and animal species would be put at risk of extinction if the average rise in temperature stabilises at 1.5C to 2.5C.
This warning should have been splashed on the front-pages of newspapers around the world with large bold headlines. Instead, the reports were largely tucked in the inside pages of our newspapers so that hardly anyone noticed them.
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Migrant workers vs expatriates – glaring double standards

Anil Netto
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Today, I dropped by to check out the Migrants Sunday celebrations organised by the Migrant Workers Support Centre on mainland Penang. As I looked around at the gathering of workers from Burma, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, I couldn’t help thinking about the double standards we practise when we think of foreign workers. Why should there be double standards when both categories comprise human beings, workers, who have come to our land to make an honest living? Let’s look at some of the glaring differences:
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Fahmi Reza’s outstanding film on the 1947 hartal

Anil Netto
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Remember the name – Fahmi Reza, the worthy winner of the Freedom Film Festival 2007. Last night I headed for the opening day’s screenings at the Actors’ Studio in Penang, mainly to see Fahmi’s “Sepuluh tahun sebelum Merdeka” – and I was not disappointed. It was the best local political documentary I had seen. The film focused on the first multi-ethnic political coalition in the country and depicted the events leading to the 1947 nationwide hartal or total national strike. The visionary women and men behind the hartal were nine years ahead of their time in coming up with constitutional proposals for a “Melayu” citizenship covering all the major races. In fact, the term “Melayu” to describe citizenship for all was surprisingly well received even by the non-Malays. The hartal had the backing of left-wing Malay nationalist groups, middle-class English-speaking non-Malays, even the Chinese Chambers of Commerce, women’s groups, and yes, the MIC too! It was a broad-ranging movement that was determined to seek Independence. Of course, the British preferred to deal with Umno, which did not threaten colonial economic interests at that time, and completely ignored the Putera-AMCJA coalition’s constitutional proposals.
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Malaysian judiciary hits rock bottom

Anil Netto
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Well, say no more! As my academic friend observes:
…this is a sterling opportunity to draw out the oligarchic control of this country — a chance to pull away from the ethnic ding-dong that’s going on. Here is the oligarchy of wealth and privilege: an Indian lawyer, a Chinese tycoon, a Malay judge, etc. And claiming to do this in the interests of the country, of the PM (Mahathir).
Gives a whole new meaning to the word “muhibbah” – while they divide-and-rule the rest of the country, secure in their own positions of wealth and power. See this press statement by Aliran president P Ramakrishnan. He is calling for the immediate suspension of the Chief Justice and a review of decisions in the following cases:
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NO! to M’sia’s FTA with police state, USA – Remember, 1.2 million dead in Iraq

Anil Netto
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The new US ambassador to Malaysia, James Keith is urging both Malaysia and the United States to conclude a Free Trade Agreement after an earlier deadline in June was missed. Of course, the US stands to benefit far more in such an “open market”. To draw an analogy, it would be like Manchester United playing against the Malaysian football team. Sure it may be a “level playing field”, but we all know who would win such a game. The thing about an FTA with the United States is that it’s not just about trade. Keith said that trade and security issues will be a major focus during his tenure.
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PGCC: Council to hear nearby residents’ concerns

Anil Netto
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Feelings against the PGCC are running high. Despite the mainstream media’s almost total blackout of dissenting views, emails have been going around, highlighting the adverse implications for Penang if the project goes ahead. Concerned activists have begun a campaign to raise public awareness of the PGCC and its horrendous implications for Penang. In the midst of all this, some welcome news: the Penang Munical Council (MPPP) has given an assurance that it would be transparent and accountable in vetting the project. MPPP president Zainal Rahim Seman said the MPPP would ensure all the requirements are met before approving the project. theSun reports:
Commenting on the complaints raised by several NGOs in Penang after the project was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sept 12, Zainal said a public hearing will be held in three weeks time. “The developer has submitted it’s plans for the PGCC and I want to assure everyone that the MPPP will be thorough and open in deliberations on the project,” he told theSun. “We will invite those in the neighbouring areas to come for the public hearing and they will be given an opportunity to air their views, which will be considered in our decision-makings. “The developer will have to fulfill all the criteria, including traffic impact assessment in the area and the EIA requirement. The relevant departments, including the Public Works Department and Department of Environment, will also submit their reports on the project.” Zainal said the approval for the project will not be given “so soon”. He said although the project had been launched even before the approval was given by the MPPP, the initial assessment had been carried out by the Prime Minister’s Office.
So I gather that the Council will be holding a meeting for neighbouring residents to hear their concerns, perhaps on 27 Sept. And I hear the NGOs are also thinking of a public forum. All of a sudden, the path to the promised PGCC land doesn’t look like like it’s going to be strewn with rose petals. First stop, the call for an independent and thorough EIA.
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