A temporary reprieve (see below).
It is time to step up the pressure against the federal Transport Ministry, the federally controlled Penang Port Commission, and the privatised Penang Port Sdn Bhd, which is linked to Sea Terminal under Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.
We are not just demanding that the ferries not be reduced from 1 January. We want MORE ferries. If not, hand over the ferry service to the Penang state government.
The financing model for the Penang transport masterplan and the very plan itself appears to be fundamentally flawed.
For a start, it is the fishermen of Penang who will have to bear a disproportionate amount of the cost in the form of their very livelihoods.
A ban on Indonesian metal ore exports and the weaker ringgit and expanded alumina refinery capacity in China has led to a surge in Malaysian bauxite exports.
Penangites are utterly fed up and disgusted with the pathetic ferry service that the privatised Penang Port Sdn Bhd is providing. For this the Transport Minister must take full responsibility.
In a rare landmark visit to a prominent mosque, a delegation of Christians, led by Bishop Sebastian Francis, visited the Abdullah Fahim Mosque in Bertam in Province Wellesley on 14 December 2015.
Some quarters appear to be out to ratchet up tensions, taking the law into their own hands.
While we lament the terrible congestion on the urban roads in the peninsula, spare a thought for motorists in Sarawak using this horribly muddy road from Miri to Marudi.
Najib and Arul Kanda have more serious explaining to do:
They should respond to this WSJ shocker: Malaysia’s 1MDB sent US$850m to entity set up to appear owned by Abu Dhabi wealth fund
A 1MDB unit transferred at least $850 million via three transactions last year to a British Virgin Islands-registered company with a name that made it look like it was controlled by IPIC, according to wire transfer documents viewed by the Journal and two people familiar with the matter.
The 1MDB fund sent the money to “Aabar Investments PJS Ltd.” which closely resembles the name of IPIC’s wholly owned subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS, the wire documents show….
Officials at IPIC say neither they nor any subsidiary received this money, the Journal reported.
Earlier:
This is one of the last bastions of fishing in Penang Island. Notice that the protesters are both Chinese and Malay: this is certainly not a racial issue for cheap politicking. The real issue is the potential loss of livelihoods of the fishing communities and of an important source of food supply for Penangites – to make way for property development, much of it probably for the high-end market.
Rampant property development, a large chunk of it to feed real estate speculators, had already gobbled up most of the vegetable farms in Penang. Now, we have to rely heavily on Cameron Highlands for local vegetables.
Will the same thing now happen to the marine fisheries sector?
Mahathir in vintage form. Where is the money from the RM2.6bn donation, he asks? Why isn’t it reflected in Umno’s financial statements over the last couple of years.
Najib, he says, is not fit to be the prime minister.