Gerakbudaya has opened a new outlet in Penang and in this cosy little bookshop, you can find alternative books on politics, the economy, history, socio-economics, and culture, which you probably would not find in more mainstream bookshops.
As World Environment Day draws to a close, here is some food for thought. The graph speaks for itself. (Does climate change ring a bell?)Source: Meteorological Department/Penang State of the Environment Scorecard
Auditors have had to qualify their opinion on the accounts of Astral Supreme Bhd, whose wholly owned subsidiary, Astral Supreme Construction Sdn Bhd, had entered into a joint-venture agreement with Penang tunnel consortium member Zenith PMC Sdn Bhd to carry out feasibility studies and detailed design work for certain roadworks and the Penang tunnel.
We are not paying enough attention to climate change and rising sea levels. Even sand mining will affect the environment. The land reclamation for Seri Tanjung Pinang Phase 2 will require 33 millon cubic metres of sand or fill material.CAP/SAM has come up with the following statement to make World Environmental Day tomorrow:
Penang tunnel consortium member Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd could be exploring a joint-venture opportunity with an obscure firm, ETI Tech Corp Bhd, reports a business weekly.
Political scientist Johan Saravanamuttu sent in the following after the Teluk Intan by-election.
I think Dyana did fine but was stumped by the lack of returning voters (related to voter turnout) which was a major factor – these will mostly be younger voters.
Well done to fz.com for hosting this series. Usually the media tend to highlight the voices of hatred and sensationalism; so this dialogue is a breath of fresh air.
According to an activist: “Good report by Himanshu on the Penang Island Local Plan and development issues.”The excuse that that the Penang Island Local Plan has to wait for the several Special Area Plans (SAP) is not acceptable “as the Local Plan has a higher hierachy over the SAP in the Town And Country Planning Act. It is standard practice to gazette the plans of higher hierachy first (ie. Structure Plan, Local Plan and then SAP) and not the other way round,” added the activist.
First we had the horrendous scar on Botak Hill (Bukit Relau); now comes news that the developer, General Accomplishment Sdn Bhd, and one of its directors, Tan Kok Ping, is suing the environmentalist Penang State Assembly member for Tanjung Bungah, Teh Yee Cheu, for “slanderous statements”.The remarks were allegedly made when Teh shaved his head bald in protest on 1 January 2014.
Was the 1992 blackout across wide swathes of the nation avoidable? Was it to pave the wave for the privatisation of TNB?Selangor Kini, bearing the copyright of the Selangor state government, has published a report about former TNB CEO Ani Arope’s memoirs in which he claims the 1992 blackout need not have occurred as TNB had already made plans to expand capacity to meet future demand.
Ramkarpal celebrates his victory – Photograph: DAPOfficial result:Ramkarpal Singh (DAP) – 41242 (89 per cent of votes cast compared to Karpal’s 79 per cent in GE13)
Huan Cheng Guan (Parti Cinta Malaysia) – 3583
Mohamed Nabi Bux Mohd Nabi Abd Sathar (Independent) – 799
Abu Backer Sidek Mohd Zan (Independent) – 225
Spoilt votes – 539
Total votes cast: 46388Majority: 37659 (Karpal’s majority in GE13 – 42706)Turnout: 46099 (56%) (86% in GE13)
(Discrepancy with total votes cast to be rechecked.)All the three losing candidates lost their deposits.
The only question is the margin of victory for Ramkarpal Singh, in the face of an insipid challenge by a Parti Cinta Malaysia candidate and two independent candidates and with the BN staying out.
More than 500 mourners attended the funeral today of Sr Julianna Lim, who worked among the poor in Seremban through the IJ learning centre.Photograph: Arul