This is the Batu Ferringhi Beach we know and love, and we should do everything in our power to protect it and the rest of our coastline from pollution and nasty effluents.
The ongoing mega project known as ‘Penang WorldCity’, sprawled over 100 acres in Bayan Mutiara is set to turn the area into a jungle of highrise towers. One shudders to think to think of the impact on traffic and the resulting congestion along the Jelutong Expressway in the years to come.
Count the number of towers in this artist’s impression.
Penang char koay teow, along with other local culinary delights, has hit the top of the foodie charts! Don’t you think it is about time we set up a street food museum to showcase how George Town’s street food landscape evolved over time and to honour the pioneers (or the ‘ori-maestros’, as Tunglang refers to them)?
Penang char koay teow: On top of the world – Photograph: jasonlcs_87/Flickr
The citation for Penang, written by Lonely Planet’s Robin Barton and published in the Independent, reads:
#1 destination: Penang, MalaysiaEveryone’s talking about it right now because… Malaysian hawker food has spread worldwide via food trucks and pop-ups but nothing compares to hitting Penang.
As the ringgit depreciates and as US quantitative easing tapers off, the era of low interest rates and cheap credit via bonds – the primary drivers of speculative investment – could soon end. Could that, in turn, lead to the popping of the property bubble?
Are there signs that this is already happening as heavily indebted Malaysian households tighten their belts in anticipation of further inflationary pressure? Will hot money from QE head for the exit doors at the first whiff of uncertainty? Check out the weakening ringgit in recent months after the QE tapering was first announced in June 2013.
The other day I was approached by The Star to comment on the issue of media coverage of politicians’ private lives in the light of Nurul Izzah’s personal situation. Can politicians really expect their private lives to be no-go areas?
While the political elites live the high life obtaining the best medical and health care treatment, Steven Grumach shares with us his experience at a government general hospital. Bear in mind that the Malaysian government spends only about 2 per cent of GDP on public health care. A big chunk of the money goes to privatised hospital support services and privatised drug procurement.
The national obsession with ‘race’ appears to have gone a bit too far. The other day I received, together with the usual bill from national sewerage company Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) a notice about the firm’s personal data protection policy. It was then that I learned that IWK is also interested in ‘race’. Now, I cannot for the life of me understand why ‘race’ should be relevant to a sewerage company, can you?
Excerpt from IWK’s Personal Data Protection Notice
Let’s see what you think of the ‘Kajang Move’.
[yop_poll id=”7″]
Also, check out this critical piece from the Aliran website:
The dark treacherous road to Putrajaya
by Azmil Tayeb
Since when have Malaysians ever voted for the Prime Minister? The nature of the parliamentary system is such that the electorate chooses which political parties that best govern the country, which in turn choose who amongst their leaders should head up the executive branch i.e. to become the Prime Minister. There is no direct election for Prime Ministership, unlike in a Presidential system.
Dear readers, wishing all of you a Happy Lunar New Year of the Horse. I wish you all the best attributes of the horse – courage in adversity, strength in overcoming challenges, diligence in toil and hard work, and perseverance against all odds in these challenging times.
Update (29 January 2014): It is confirmed that this new structure at the corner of the Formal Garden is for new toilets to replace the old toilets located nearby, which are apparently in bad shape and will be demolished. Climbing plants will be used on the stone walls so that the new structure blends with the rest of the landscape. (But why such a tall structure for toilets?) Meanwhile it is heartening to hear that approval has been given for all buildings that have no apparent use to be demolished. One wonders why they were built in the first place.
Original post on 25 January 2014:
Sigh! Another concrete structure is sprouting at the Penang Botanic Garden.
What on earth are they building in our precious Garden?!
The plot thickens! Rafizi Ramli says the gambit to force a by-election in Kajang is in anticipation of the possibility of Najib Razak being ousted by the Mahathir faction and to showcase Selangor as a model of Pakatan rule.
From various accounts, it was Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim’s perceived lack of consultation that resulted in faltering support from his Pakatan colleagues, especially those from within PKR.
While all the talk is of ‘Allah’ banners and Molotov cocktails, the real action is taking place in deals such as the proposed delisting of Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) from the stock exchange. The delisting of Bernas would take away what little public scrutiny there is of this privatised firm.
What is at stake? This is the cherry in the pie:
Profiting from rice: Bernas’ latest quarterly report
A police report has been lodged following the incident this morning when a couple of Molotov cocktails were lobbed into the premises of the Assumption Church in Penang.
Photograph on 27 January 2014, courtesy of The Malaysian Insider/ Hasnoor Hussain
