Seven reasons why I am against the Penang transport masterplan

Anil Netto
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Seven reasons why I am against the Penang transport masterplan
Under normal circumstances, I would be the first to support any plan to promote sustainable transport in Penang and Malaysia. Unfortunately, I cannot support the Penang transport masterplan as it stands for the following reasons: 1. Ballooning costs: The cost keeps ballooning even before it starts. RM27bn was already an astronomical figure. Now we are told it will be RM35-40bn (The Edge interview with the Penang chief minister). And that is excluding the tunnel, mind you. (A figure of RM6.3bn has been mentioned for that.) These are mega projects by any definition – and we used to criticise Mahathir for those, with justification. Whose idea was it to have a road tunnel, anyway?
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CAP: What is Penang without its roadside trees?

Anil Netto
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CAP: What is Penang without its roadside trees?
CAP has just come out with a statement below: What is Penang without her green? What is Green Lane without the Green? Penang is slowly losing its green as more concrete jungles are taking over for development and paving the way for more vehicles.
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No detailed EIA for three proposed Penang Island highways?

Anil Netto
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No detailed EIA for three proposed Penang Island highways?
Construction of three highways in Penang Island is expected to begin in June 2016, but the consortium will only need a preliminary EIA before starting work. This is such a major project – highways near hills and densely populated areas – and yet, they don’t need a detailed EIA?
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What? More Green Lane trees to be removed for road-widening

Anil Netto
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What? More Green Lane trees to be removed for road-widening
In this era of climate change, I was alarmed to hear that up to three dozen big trees could be removed along Jalan Masjid Negeri (“Green” Lane) to make way for another car lane. (Update: Apparently, 16 trees could be involved or ‘transplanted’, not 33 as reported – but how many of these transplanted trees will survive?) This is the stretch across the road from the MacDonald’s outlet. This road-widening project is expected to cost some RM15m. Is this the best use of our limited funds? Would it really solve our traffic problems? For how long?
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Now northern flank opens up against Najib as thousands rally around Mukhriz

Anil Netto
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What would Najib make of this? In the west, there are the investigations in France and Switzerland. In the south, Singapore announced a large number of bank accounts had been seized in connection with the 1MDB probe in cooperation with the authorities of Malaysia, Switzerland and the United States. In Johor, Umno is in turmoil after Muhyiddin was sacked from Umno Baru.
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‘You know it’s really bad when the SWISS announce they are investigating someone…’

Anil Netto
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‘You know it’s really bad when the SWISS announce they are investigating someone…’
That was a reader’s comment left on the website of the Wall Street Journal. The Swiss were renown for their banking secrecy, but even they couldn’t keep mum over this.

The sum suspected to have been misappropriated amounts to around US$4bn; its intended purpose is the subject of further investigations. So far it has been ascertained that a small portion of the money was transferred to accounts held in Switzerland by various former Malaysian public officials and both former and current public officials from the United Arabic Emirates.

So thanks to the Switzerland attorney general’s office, we now know there is a ‘black hole’ out there amounting to US$4bn (RM17bn), involving several firms that have links to 1MDB. In my piece, The black hole of 1MDB, I noted that 1MDB stood to make at least RM12bn in property revaluation gains. This would come in handy for 1MDB to fill up its own black hole by paying off its debts, (incurred on what?) and papering over its losses.
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Swiss attorney general’s office finds ‘serious indications’ of RM17bn embezzlement

Anil Netto
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Swiss attorney general’s office finds ‘serious indications’ of RM17bn embezzlement
A bombshell, if ever there was one. Read the full statement from the Swiss attorney general’s office here. The actual headline of the Swiss statement starts with “1MDB case”.

The criminal investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has revealed serious indications that funds have been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies. The monies believed to have been misappropriated would have been earmarked for investment in economic and social development projects in Malaysia. So far four cases involving allegations of criminal conduct and covering the period from 2009 to 2013 have come to light in this connection (relating to Petrosaudi, SRC, Genting/Tanjong and ADMIC), each involving a systematic course of action carried out by means of complex financial structures.

The sum suspected to have been misappropriated amounts to around US$4bn; its intended purpose is the subject of further investigations. So far it has been ascertained that a small portion of the money was transferred to accounts held in Switzerland by various former Malaysian public officials and both former and current public officials from the United Arabic Emirates. To date, however, the Malaysian companies concerned have made no comment on the losses they are believed to have incurred.

The Wall Street Journal quotes the Swiss attorney general:

“We are very concerned,” Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. “We have found evidence of suspicious money transfers linked to 1MDB going through Swiss financial institutions, and we believe that it is very important that it is shared with the Malaysian authorities.”

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The Botak Hill summit that Penang Forum activists were not shown

Anil Netto
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The Botak Hill summit that Penang Forum activists were not shown
The above satellite image is of the 1.5km-long flattened summit of Botak Hill, which Penang Forum activists were not taken to see. Instead the four-wheel drives stopped at the boundary of the plot of land, well below the top (see the yellow pin in the photo below). Why were they not taken to the top?
That cleared strip at the summit is over 1,500 feet in length
That cleared strip at the summit, the yellow line, is over 1,500 feet in length
The photo below is a 360-degree shot of the summit in early 2014 taken by an avid hiker.
Botak Hill summit in early 2014 - Photograph: rexymizrah.wordpress.com
A 360-degree photograph of the Botak Hill summit in early 2014 – Photograph: rexymizrah.wordpress.com
The hiker has published more photographs on his blog of the devastation on Botak Hill along trails leading to the summit. Vigilant hikers like him are the guardians of our hills.
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Heated argument over Botak Hill ‘mitigation’ work during site visit

Anil Netto
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Up on Botak Hill 27 January 2016 An engineer (right) involved in the mitigation work under intense questioning by Penang Forum steering committee members as Chow Kon Yeow (centre) looks down. A heated discussion took place during a site visit to Botak Hill (Bukit Relau) this morning over whether the work being carried out was mitigation or restoration.
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RM2.6bn donor must officially confirm repayment

Anil Netto
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The RM2.6bn donor must step out and official confirm if such a donation was made and how much was returned. The prime minister should then account for the difference. This is in the light of the widespread scepticism that greeted the attorney general’s statement. Here’s an excerpt from a Dow Jones Business news report on the Nasdaq website:

A Saudi government official, while declining to comment specifically on the prosecutor’s statement, said the Saudi ministries of foreign affairs and finance had no information about such a gift and that a royal donation to the personal bank account of a foreign leader would be unprecedented. Representatives of the royal family couldn’t be reached for comment.

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Appeals Board decides in favour of Sungai Ara residents

Anil Netto
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Appeals Board decides in favour of Sungai Ara residents
The Appeals Board this morning decided in favour of the residents of Persiaran Kelicap and Solok Kelicap over a “special project” on hilly land near them.
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Botak Hill as you have never seen it before

Anil Netto
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Why the road up Botak Hill? Some of these images were projected during a dialogue between the Penang chief minister and Penang Forum on 11 January 2014.
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Poll: Should Malaysia ratify the TPP agreement?

Anil Netto
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Watch Obama tell the American people how the TPP would help American exporters penetrate countries such as Malaysia. Yes, he actually mention Malaysia and its “30 per cent tax on American auto parts”. Are our local businesses – and farmers – ready for an influx of American goods and services?
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Platform collapses in sea off Gurney Drive

Anil Netto
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Platform collapses in sea off Gurney Drive
A platform believed to be used for carrying out tests (for land reclamation?) has collapsed in the sea facing Gurney Paragon along Gurney Drive in Penang.
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Sungai Ara residents await Appeals Board decision on 27 January

Anil Netto
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Sungai Ara residents await Appeals Board decision on 27 January
Residents in the area around Persiaran Kelicap and Solok Kelicap in Sungai Ara are anxiously awaiting an Appeals Board decision on a developer’s plan to build 14 fairly highrise blocks on hill-slopes, more than 250 feet above sea level.
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Each political party, each MP must make stand clear on TPP

Anil Netto
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Each political party, each MP must make stand clear on TPP
Party whips should not not be imposed and MPs should be allowed to vote on the TPP according to their conscience next week. But I would like to know the stand of each party and each MP. 
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Trams return to Burma – with just RM17m funding

Anil Netto
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Trams return to Burma – with just RM17m funding
With just US$3.88m (RM17m) funding under a Japanese investment agreement, Burma has brought back the trams to Yangon after 100 years.
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Bukit Kukus: Timeline of degradation

Anil Netto
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Is this for property development or sand-mining? Notice how close this is to a residential area. Is this what we want for Penang?
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The black hole of 1MDB

Anil Netto
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1MDB should have been rolling in the black with some RM12bn in land revaluation gains; instead it finds itself pouring money into a black hole of borrowings incurred to finance goodness-knows-what.
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‘Hundreds of millions in compensation’?

Anil Netto
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In all my years of observing politics, whether local or foreign, I have never before come across an administration that so frequently warns of the possibility of having to pay “(hundreds of) millions in compensation” to developers or landlords. To me, this mantra seems to be a favourite fall-back position (to browbeat critics into silence?).
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