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.
MPPP has sent the residents there notices to raise their objections. The residents are concerned about the high density, traffic congestion and reclamation of the sea front.
The project is located in the Persiaran Bayan Indah vicinity.
S H Tan adds:
Developers in Penang are increasingly building Soho units. These fetch higher market prices and they also exploit loopholes in the by-laws where they do not need to provide green spaces, allocated parking spaces and other amenities required for residential units. Many buyers are also not informed at the point of buying that they have to pay commercial rates for assessment, quit rent and utilities for Soho units.
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While many are tempted by the massive advertisement campaign on new properties in Penang on newspapers, be warned that the bubble is bursting soon (long overdue) as stock markets worldwide are in free falling now!
Be warned! QE withdrawal is no joke.
Correct me if I’m wrong, I still remember we can’t allow or can’t afford due to scarce land. Who giving permission for this development. It’s a 2 way track. I allow and you pay.
Thanks bro for forgiving my naivety…
Hope one day we can jump into your 4wheel and explore the jungle…
However, i see that for you to live in Belum cant be a reality ya. Cakap shiok shiok saja la.
go Belum and enjoy wild leafy kangkung aplenty no need to buy just politely ask orang asli for permission to harvest foc. no 4wd and need to charge up batteries play simulated 4wd games on tablet in jungle; and return to city to recharge. no ori-maestro street food at Belum ? than buy plenty Penang prwan noodles or that always sold out kari-mee instant type. also when romancing in Belum forest, watch out as these days the orang asli there quite high tech with smart gadgets and they can upload your love adventure in youtube/facebook to earn extra commissions from… Read more »
4WDriving typically ego boosting for driver who feel lacking in many aspects.
4WD dont give a hoot about mini cars like Kancil. Its intimidating presence an ugly bullying sight !
Too bad you met the ugly ones who think the urban roads belonged to them space. You will be surprised some housewives or Si Lai also drive their cosmopolitan MPVs just like that. I drove hardcore 4WD (for rimba adventure) before & now also I drive a decent ATOS. My empathy to your point of view. Offroad, it is a different story of a terrain. If you drive with an ego, you either end up with 4 wheels facing the sky or the datuk kong will make 4WDriving difficult as the terrains. In the jungle, even the all-terrain elephants give… Read more »
I thought our dear brother tunglang was encouraging a peaceful living in Belum, watching the birds and insects and make friends with the nature but i was shock he was ransacking the jungle with his 4wheel drive?
Wonder this is right to trespass the habitat of orang asli though permission is given by the authority???
While tunglang and his dear friends may enjoy the adventure which i can never do so with my kancil, however, i wonder how the orang asli feel. Are they threatened with such “intrusion” with their otherwise peaceful living?
Thanks brother for enlightening anyway.
kee, I can forgive your naive thought about 4WD since (may) I assume you never set foot in any wild rainforest except tame, tidy & safe Penang Municipal Youth Park! Those who access mainland rainforest regularly for work or recreation (not 1 to 5km but 20+km deep) use 4WD vehicles on existing old lumber tracks no more in use or still in use by huge 5ft (diameter)x12- wheeler timber trucks (Tua-Ko). You can’t see such things in civilised Penang Island, so I again forgive your naivety of imagination of 4WD tearing up the virgin jungle without an offroad track. Just… Read more »
SPICE PISA to spice up D’Piazza?
Ayer Itam Laksa can spice up opposite Koay Teow Th’ng?
a good analogy from tunglang.
btwm eason chen gonna have concert in sPICE this April. Tickets RM88 to RM488.
but for me Samuel Hui is a better Hong King singer who sings about the plight of the public.
D’Piazza Mall opposite Spice Pisa A BIG Hollow Mall !
OC obtained near 3 years yet I would say more than 70% shop lots still vacant.
If you have bought a unit there, good luck to you !
Now entry to park cars must pay, even less customers no wonder the Bak Kut Teh there close for renovation supposed to reopen in Dec still not open yet !
BB Ah Pek, D’Piazza Mall truly is a waste of precious land space which is better for alternative use like affordable housing. You may think I am fed up with this type of development, actually I pity those who invested their blood, sweat & tears monies in such ill-planned development.
More of the type of D’Piazza to come in Pg island.
We haven’t learnt from One-Stop Shopping Centre turned almost ghostly business void.
for nonsensical development in the name of commercial at expense of true needs of public (can make money there also and better conscience lah) I have to agree with you. next time u 4-wheeldrive to Bayan Baru, also go check out One Precinct nearby next to Bayan Baru Market – also a hollow Mall in many aspects unless you just look from outside. The bar (drinking outlet) outside recently quit business ! Then next to DPiazza there is a new commercial cum condo residential called The Promenade; now work to start soon as area fence up and developer and its… Read more »
Soho concept is getting too expensive for new entrpreneurs to sustain !
Work from home (no rental worry for example) cut down overhead expenses.
Subscribe to broadband internet and deal biz on line is the latest wiser approach. In between work at home surf the net and read anilnetto.com for updates relevant to new cosmopolitan internet trading business.
No need for bin chui SOHO of 2-gen property loan if one is enterprising but can’t service such maxi-overhead loan not much better (prudent) than renting in the short run an office space in the city or McCallum Flats. SOHO concept entails not much face-2-face customer interaction / communication @ office, so what’s the need for bin chui feel-good SOHO? Is SKYPE-ing with a nice office backdrop such an alien concept to use instead of super-costly designer SOHOs? I have a friend whose name card listed Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia as global offices. And he operates from an office lot… Read more »
Dear bro tunglang, First of all, you seem to dislike SG land. Whether you agree or not, so far i have not heard any negative remarks about SG land, politics and LKY aside. After visiting Sg land last year, my sis from oz said, KL is nothing compared to sg land. Her exact version was, “kua liaw singkapore, KL maka sai”. My aunt just arrived from the US after spent a few days in sg land, she remarked, “Singapore is so clean even their buses and everything…so good to look at, their town planning is first class and there is… Read more »
Kee, don’t be so ‘periodly’ upset with what I have commented. Some are personal views as some of yours I sanely disagree. It’s up to individuals free from whatever worshipping encumbrances, as I am no CAT to enforce my point of view thro the paw rule of legislation. As for SingLand, it’s more of authentic Asian heritage/cultural issues in inner city George Town, the same issues SingLand had to grapple in the 60s & 70s but now regretted some of its past development losing precious Asian heritage assets which it cannot bring back to life but still recreated as plastics… Read more »
New heritage hotel promises an authentic Penang experience: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/travel/article/new-heritage-hotel-promises-an-authentic-penang-experience Armenian House, which is a three-storey heritage shophouse, has been opened for about four months. Business is very good during holidays. The manager of the outlet, who declined to be named, said the city’s heritage and culture remain to be the selling point. She said tourists, especially those from overseas, are very appreciative of the city’s heritage structures, sometimes even more than locals. “It is simple to tell. When our foreign visitors walk up the stairs in old buildings, they tend to take extra care. “They also do not criticise when… Read more »
Ask anyone who have stayed in Singapore, they will tell you how much we could learn from them in almost all aspects of administration and processes. I have worked in Singapore for 10 years after graduating from NUS.
Of course mainstream media like The Star is promoting Malaysia Boleh by running down the Red Dot.
Kee tunglang just got fed up what he experienced in penang is slowing gone due to development. we have to understand his mindset. you think he is welcomed at Belum national park by the orang asli there ? His 4 wheel drive alone a heaven in penang but could be a noisy poluuter in serene Belum. It’s diffrernt story to hike there and to live there for long. I bet his children will not tag along (no wifi and dating problems) with him (wife could doubtful as she may miss her hua hee dai series if in Belum). In Belum… Read more »
To access pristine Belum Rainforest, one has to get trekking permission (for how many days) from Perhilitan, to take a boat ride, to follow ‘no-hunting of endangered species, no collecting of speciments’ including wild boar hunting (reserved only for Orang Asli food source), to take nothing, leave nothing but foot prints only & to respect the other ‘2-legged+4-legged seen + invisible inhabitants’ of the mysterious rainforest. If you are the squeaky slippery-clean minions who think of Japanese hygiene for all things, 24hr Facebook addicts who show off pictures or can’t sleep in mosquito-infested + parachuting-from-tree leeches in open airs, pls… Read more »
Penang island doesn’t need more SOHOs. A better option is to build more residential apartments/condominiums.
Ask the guy who approves all kind of land development (including theme parks) + unearthly pricing.
Without his development-eager AOK, how can these SOHOs (a symbol of cosmopolitan lifestyle aka Metropolis London) see the light of days notwithstanding its low demand as a home in kiam siap Penang?
Could SoHo be a future trend in Penang when people can work from home (via internet) or when internet business gaining more prominence? It could even help to alleviate traffic congestion on the island?
Perhaps the developers has the foresight?
You assume Penang Lang ‘tua kang’.
This soho thing may spell the start of a lifetime in debt. And running back to parents for ‘parachute financing’ of bin chui soho is bad financial planning for young workers. Penang is not a duplicate SingLand. Get real.
Do not underestimate the ability of Penangites in financing such SoHO.
The older generation has accumulated wealth via frugal lifestyle, and their children will spend it on their behalf.
The first batch of Gold Coast residents in Penang felt cheated as the new surrounding development has blocked their sea view and also diminished their exclusivity, thus lowering their property value.
The developers, of course, will cari lubang to build and sell soho or whatever. When i visited a property booth in gurney plaza last year or a year before, the sales agent did make known that there was no car park allocated, buyers have to pay commercial rates for quit rent and assessment. The developers may build but i think the people are greedy too they want to invest and make money, more money… Now, pg govt came up with good measures which penang forum also lauded the move to curb speculations, but we kau peh and kau boh just… Read more »
CEO building next to Vistana Commercial Suites near Lip Sin also SoHo concept.
Occupancy rate questionable yet more SoHo to be developed ?
Dont believe next time you go makan at the nearby famous Nasi Kandar you can drop by to check out yourself.
Occupancy rate questionable yet more SoHo to be developed
This is the reason why the govt must control our medium cost houses to help the developers to sell their Soho units
Betul ke ?
Will a person with family want to buy a 400 sq ft soho to live compared to 700 sq ft apartment with more or less the same price, say about Rm350k???
Soho is more expensive than our apartments la !!!
Ananars: This is the reason why the govt must control our medium cost houses to help the developers to sell their Soho units.
I would take half of that as a conspiracy theory. The other half I would say it’s pay back time, on time to the developers’ wild dreams (earlier you scratch my back, now I scratch yours).
… Where is the lots of money (Rm3.5million) to build DAP HQ comes from???
A ‘cartel’ type of property development, manipulated pricing & ‘no choice’ direction towards high end home lifestyle in cohort with state gomen? LC, LMC & MC housing are things of the past & will most probably be relegate to the cremation furnace of Mount Erskine Crematorium. Next in the rollout will be 2 to 3-generations home loans (to ease the monthly instalment burden) while we max out our financial means & health on the rat racing wheels to fulfil the lifestyle of no choice. That’s the price of Cosmopolitan Penang Frenzies. Everyday I walk past the sales office of a… Read more »
Take an evening walk in D’Piazza Mall. You won’t be ridiculed for ghost hallucination.
So quiet & empty, you would think it’s Chinese New Year Eve (every night)!
Build to look like SingLand mah. But where’s the crowd? Investors must be fuming for ill advice & cosmopolitan promises.