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‘Special projects’ on hills: Penang Forum vindicated

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‘Special projects’ on hills: Penang Forum vindicated

Penang Forum’s position against special projects on the hills of Penang, put forward by prominent lawyer Agatha Foo, has been vindicated in recent weeks by three developments. [Basically, Penang Forum said that the Penang state government had come up with guidelines in 2009 that interpreted too broadly the term special projects contained in the Penang Structure Plan, gazetted in 2007. The Structure Plan prohibits development on hill land more than 250 feet above sea level, allowing only “limited development” for special projects under exceptional circumstances.]

  1. A decision by the Appeals Board, chaired by Yeo Yang Poh, in favour of the residents of Sungai Ara, who had appealed against the MBPP’s approval of developer Sunway’s ‘special project’ on a hill in their vicinity.
  2. An article by University of Malaya law professor Gurdial Singh Nijar which affirmed the Appeals Board decision and Penang Forum’s position on special projects.
  3. A statement by the Human Rights Society of Malaysia (Hakam), issued by Ambiga Sreenevasan and Gurdial Singh, supporting Penang Forum’s position and the Appeals Board decision on special projects.
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Penang losing its ‘charm’ and ‘character’

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Penang losing its ‘charm’ and ‘character’

I couldn’t help thinking of the demolition of the Runnymede ancilliary buildings over the Lunar New Year, when reading this report in Buletin Mutiara (below). The irony of it all.

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Runnymede ancilliary buildings demolished: MBPP must explain

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Runnymede ancilliary buildings demolished: MBPP must explain

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, heritage circles in Penang were abuzz with talk that several buildings in the Runnymede property in Penang – the site of Stamford Raffles home in Penang – were being demolished, reminiscent of the way the nearby Metropole Hotel was flattened under stealth on Christmas Day, 1993.

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Protests erupt in Auckland: TPP signing is just the beginning

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Protests erupt in Auckland: TPP signing is just the beginning

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Auckland and elsewhere as the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was being signed on 4 February. The chant that rose into the air summed up the sentiment: “TPPA – Taking People’s Power Away”.

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Wishing you a prosperous New Year – but what do you mean by prosperous?

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Wishing you a prosperous New Year – but what do you mean by prosperous?

We are so used to wishing prosperity to one another over the Lunar New Year, but maybe it is time to look more closely at what we mean by prosperity.

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New mobility agenda for Penang needed

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New mobility agenda for Penang needed

Our guest contributor is Eric Britton, a sustainable transport expert who visited Penang a couple of years ago. He says, “The priority is not to further expand supply of inefficiently used infrastructure, but rather to manage and use it better.”

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Seven reasons why I am against the Penang transport masterplan

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Seven reasons why I am against the Penang transport masterplan

Under normal circumstances, I would be the first to support any plan to promote sustainable transport in Penang and Malaysia. Unfortunately, I cannot support the Penang transport masterplan as it stands for the following reasons:

1. Ballooning costs: The cost keeps ballooning even before it starts. RM27bn was already an astronomical figure. Now we are told it will be RM35-40bn (The Edge interview with the Penang chief minister). And that is excluding the tunnel, mind you. (A figure of RM6.3bn has been mentioned for that.) These are mega projects by any definition – and we used to criticise Mahathir for those, with justification. Whose idea was it to have a road tunnel, anyway?

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CAP: What is Penang without its roadside trees?

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CAP: What is Penang without its roadside trees?

CAP has just come out with a statement below:

What is Penang without her green? What is Green Lane without the Green? Penang is slowly losing its green as more concrete jungles are taking over for development and paving the way for more vehicles.

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No detailed EIA for three proposed Penang Island highways?

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No detailed EIA for three proposed Penang Island highways?

Construction of three highways in Penang Island is expected to begin in June 2016, but the consortium will only need a preliminary EIA before starting work. This is such a major project – highways near hills and densely populated areas – and yet, they don’t need a detailed EIA?

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What? More Green Lane trees to be removed for road-widening

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What? More Green Lane trees to be removed for road-widening

In this era of climate change, I was alarmed to hear that up to three dozen big trees could be removed along Jalan Masjid Negeri (“Green” Lane) to make way for another car lane. (Update: Apparently, 16 trees could be involved or ‘transplanted’, not 33 as reported – but how many of these transplanted trees will survive?) This is the stretch across the road from the MacDonald’s outlet.

This road-widening project is expected to cost some RM15m. Is this the best use of our limited funds? Would it really solve our traffic problems? For how long?

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