This photo, a scene from Burma Road sent in by blog visitor Kevin, seems to show the little regard for traffic rules and MPPP regulations in Penang – and no doubt elsewhere in the country as well where similar rules are being ignored.
Flouting of council regulations and traffic rules in Penang. Does anyone care? – Photograph: Kevin
I am reproducing below a message from Ken Khor of Metro Bikes, calling on the Penang state government to prioritise public safety infrastructure for cyclists first before it moves on to the next stage.
A patient at the KL General Hospital (HKL) shares his experience:
I am a patient of our Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) and visit two specialist clinics regularly. It used to be four. I was warded in two different wards for biopsies and can attest that our hospitals are terribly overcrowded and rundown. The HKL is an old hospital, and I was born in the maternity section. Guess I will probably die there too.
Activist S H Tan reports:
I have received an alert from a resident in Bayan Bay near Queensbay Mall concerning a proposed new development next to their Gold Coast condomimium. The proposed development consists of four tower blocks with a total of 1900 Soho (small office, home office) units.
Soho project
Hopefully, the Penang state government will put in place a large public park and other free recreational spaces, vegetable farms and fruit orchards for food security, and planned sustainable transport infrastructure, including bicycle lanes and top quality pedestrian networks in Batu Kawan.
While political groups play on ethnicity and religion to strengthen their grip on power and divert attention from critical social issues, price hikes and corruption; while some political leaders seek the best medical treatment for themselves; while five-star ‘medical tourism’ is being promoted for better-off visitors; many Malaysians from the lower-income group and middle-class are silently feeling the strain of inadequate public health care infrastructure.
This was the scene that greeted me when I visited a friend at the Seberang Jaya Hospital on 4 January. A cubicle in a medical ward designed for six beds is now forced to accommodate 10 or 11 beds, making the whole cubicle congested.
While certain people are getting hot under the collar over the use of the word Allah, Proton, which was privatised to Syed Mokhtar Albukhary’s DRB-Hicom in 2012, continues to receive close to RM200m in “government R&D grants” (public money), according to reports.
The convoluted saga of the compensation-in-kind for building the Penang tunnel continues.
The Penang state government plans to hand over land to the tunnel developer, Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) as part of a swap deal for building the cross-channel tunnel. And now Consortium Zenith has entered into a 40:60 joint venture with a subsidiary of Ewein Bhd to develop 3.7 acres of that land (Lot 702 at Bandar Tanjong Pinang).
Several dozen journalists and activists gathered in KL yesterday to call for greater media freedom. Among those who addressed the gathering were Ambiga Sreenevasan and Malaysiakini’s Fathi Aris Omar.
1334:“Okay, nak balik, tamatlah kisah cinta di pagi Ahad,” says the Muslim who has turned up to express solidarity. Once again, the tables have been turned, and the Muslims who have stepped forward to express solidarity with the Christians have given us real hope of an alternative, more inclusive vision for the future, in which the children of the light will overcome those of darkness.
1333: The priest says it is a historic day and thanks everyone who has come including the police. The large turnout this morning has made it almost like the attendance at Christmas. He mentions something about “kebebasan menyembah tuhan”, which sounds more poetic than freedom to worship, notes an observer at the scene. “You know, Malay is such a beautiful language, fit for any faith,” adds the observer.
The large turnout at the Malay-language service
Aliran president Dr Francis Loh has issued an urgent statement calling on Prime Minister Najib Razak to speak out now on the worsening tensions between certain Muslim groups and Christians over the use of the word Allah.
Blog correspondent Michael Maguire reports on the the latest status of the erosion at the Tanjung Bungah Beach. Questions must now be asked as to the source of this erosion. Is it land reclamation (or some other factor?) and if so, what will happen when there is further land reclamation?
Some leaders (and their spouses) prefer plush exclusive private jets for travel; other leaders have a weakness for luxury cars. But Francis, the Bishop of Rome, serious about reaching out to the poor, ‘downgraded’ to a five-year-old blue Ford Focus as his choice of official car.
Leadership by example – Photograph: Daily Mail
Will the Barang Naik phenomenon result in fewer people patronising street food – and turning to healthier home-cooked food at home instead (but even home-cooked food is getting expensive as a cursory glance at prices at the wet market will confirm)?
Or will the higher-end restaurants be the ones that suffer if their customers desert them and turn to cheaper street food options?
One reason for the hike in food prices is that Malaysia does not have self-sufficiency in our basic food supply. We are too busy building expensive condos and houses instead of providing our people with affordable food.
In case you missed it, tourists had to be brought down using a skylift when the 1.6km Malacca monorail encountered a “technical problem” – yet again.
Oh no, not again – Photograph: Muhammad Hatim Ab Manan/NST
Blog visitor Kevin sent in this photo of a pedestrian pavement in Ipoh. Not perfect, the idea is there. But still see what look like obstructions in the path that might hinder wheelchair movement.
Photograph: Kevin
Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa has responded to the raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia yesterday by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) yesterday.
A new high-end exclusive condo project, City of Dreams, has set tongues wagging in the property scene while raising several issues that require clarification.
