tunglang sent in the following description of a nocturnal stroll around the George Town heritage core zone.Last Saturday night, I went for a walk in the heritage zone of George Town.
In a bid to counter the negative vibes generated by the forcible removal of a cross from the Beacon of Hope Church in Taman Medan by a group of 50 protesters last week, a group of well-wishers today distributed flowers to representatives of the church and people of various faiths in the vicinity.
A group of prominent Penang-based NGOs is formally inviting the BN and Pakatan candidates contesting in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election to a public debate on key national issues affecting the people.
The candidate for PKR is about to be announced at 11.30pm. Will it be Wan Azizah, as widely expected, who would probably put the spotlight on Anwar’s plight?
This is what Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali had to say yesterday in response to a mob forcing a church in a shoplot in Taman Medan to remove the cross from its building:
Switzerland tops the global happiness chart followed by a string of Scandinavian nations while the most unhappy nations are Togo, Burundi and Syria. Malaysia came out 61st.
Penang Forum has just released a statement regarding the rezoning of Bukit Relau to residential use.
Botak Hill rezoning: What happened to CAT?
The Penang Forum Steering Committee is dismayed to read press reports on 19 April 2015 which confirmed that the Penang state government had quietly rezoned hill land in Bukit Relau for residential development in December 2012.
The PDC is inviting ‘requests for proposals’ for the “safe rehabilitation, development of the Jelutong dumpsite and propose new disposal site for construction and demolition waste and marine clay”.
Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is growing as people in affected countries express their disquiet.
Within Malaysia, I don’t think there has been enough media coverage and political debate on this huge trade pact, which is going to have far-reaching implications. Obama is anxious to get Malaysia and the countries in this region to sign on the dotted line, and that could be why he was being so ‘pal-ly’ with Najib, going on a charm offensive over golf.
So Nurul Izzah’s piece below serves as a timely reminder of what is at stake:
The following letter was sent by Renji Sathiah, the Tanjung Bungah Residents Association chairperson, to the Penang Island City Council mayor and copied to the Penang JKR director:
More and more people are expressing disquiet over the model of development being pursued in Penang. From north to south of the island the voices are growing louder.
Even property prices on the mainland are soaring – and this before the tunnel work has even started. Double- and even single-storey houses in Bagan Ajam in Butterworth, close to the site of the proposed tunnel, are going for RM600,000-700,000, whereas only about three years ago, they were were about half that level.
Never mind the United States and Singapore. Look at how the ringgit is faring against the baht in post-coup Thailand.
We are even slipping against the Indonesian Rupiah of late. Where are we heading?
There’s still a bit of uncertainty over PKR’s choice of candidate for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election. Party strategists are understood to be looking for the most ‘winnable’ candidate.
What do you think?
Should the RM27bn Penang Transport Masterplan be renamed? Because it looks increasingly as if the planned improvement in the transport infrastructure in the state will bring with it massive land reclamation and (mainly high-end?) property development.
Why are we thinking of cross-channel cable cars when it is not in the Penang Transport Masterplan, for which the state government paid RM3.2m to consultants to undertake?
The Penang DAP State Assembly member for Tanjung Bungah Teh Yee Cheu is unhappy about a draft plan that would classify Tanjung Bungah, Teluk Bahang and Batu Ferringhi as a future development zone that would include commercial development.
The property development in connection with the tunnel is about to start with earnest with the RM800m City of Dreams project having received approval from the Penang Island City Council.
City of Dreams involves the construction of a total of 522 luxury serviced apartments in two 38-storey towers on a 3.7 acre site in Sri Tanjung Pinang in Tanjung Tokong. Sea-front apartments will be priced from RM1200 per sq ft, which is reportedly lower than E & O’s nearby RM1800psf high-end condos.
An out-of-this-world proposal has reportedly been received from Hong Kong investors to build a 2500ha concrete deck island instead of reclaiming the Middle Bank as part of a land swap deal for the Penang Transport Master Plan.
From Middle Bank to Gazumbo – Photographs: Hong Jing/Facebook
If the report is true, it looks as if the ecologically sensitive Middle Bank is being eyed as a target for land reclamation under the Master Plan (much like how reclaimed land in Tanjung Tokong is being handed over to the developer of the proposed tunnel).
