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Link public transport with no car-zones

Anil Netto
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The MPPP is looking into extending its trial no-car zone at the Esplanade sea-front promenade to other areas.


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This is a move in the right direction. It should go hand-in-hand with improved public transport such as buses and trams and the provision of bus and cycling lanes.

Carnavon Street - Photo credit: The Star
It’s also time to plant more trees, especially to provide shade for pavements, along our streets like what is being done in Carnavon Street in Penang under a Khazanah-MPPP project.

I was surprised that trees were not planted along the divider of the Jelutong Expressway when it was built. Very poor planning. If land-scarce Singapore can plant trees in the middle and along its roads, why can’t we do that for our streets with all the land we have?

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Live – Amendment vote short of 2/3

Anil Netto
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Go to TV Selangor for a live telecast of the proceedings below and follow live updates further below.


Petronas to dish out mega contracts?

Anil Netto
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Petronas may soon dish out mega contracts for local and foreign firms to develop marginal oil fields. And reports say the frontrunners are believed to be Kencana Petroleum Bhd and SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd.

“The local players will tie up with foreign oil and gas majors in a consortium where the former would have a minor role as it is something new to them. The locals need to learn,” The Star quoted an industry source as saying. (In other words, the locals can’t handle the job themselves?)

According to Kencana’s Annual Report for 2010, Mokhzani Mahathir has a 39 per cent interest in the firm, mostly via Khasera Baru Sdn Bhd.

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Wall of smoke

Anil Netto
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I was admiring the view of Penang Island from the mainland at around noon today when suddenly, a wall of smoke billowed near the sea-front blocking the island from view for a few minutes.

A fire in Butterworth? No, just plumes of smoke coming from the direction of an industrial plant in the heart of Butterworth town, lasting a few minutes. Apparently, this happens once or twice a day, I was told.

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Live – Nomination Day for Tenang

Anil Netto
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Live updates on Nomination Day for the Tenang by-election.

Najib’s mega presence at Thaipusam

Anil Netto
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Prime Minister Najib Razak is going all out to cultivate Hindu votes, as can be seen from his larger-than-life appearance at Batu Caves.

After the Christmas tea-party hoo-ha, Najib has gone out of the way to make his presence felt at Batu Caves with a bang.

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Bangsar land swap: The hidden party

Anil Netto
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The land swop deal involving S P Setia and the government has raised several issues of public interest.  This is another of those fancy so-called ‘public-private partnerships’; but there is also a third – and hidden – party involved. Who is it?

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It’s raining elections…

Anil Netto
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2011 is shaping up to be a year full of elections: two or three by-elections, the Sarawak state election (could be in April) and perhaps a general election.

(MStar quoted the Election Commission chief as saying that the Merlimau (Melaka) state seat rep from Umno had passed away at 2.30pm. But at 4.29pm, the Malaysian Insider corrected its earlier twitter flash of his death as follows: “Merlimau rep Mohd Hidhir on life support, Malacca Umno confirms & denies EC report of his death.” Finally, just before 9.00pm another news flash reported that Umno had confirmed that the rep had passed away.)

What do you all think of Tenang? Anyway, this is Normala Sudirman, the Pakatan (Pas) candidate for the Tenang by-election….

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Pulau Jerejak: Stanley Park of Penang?

Anil Netto
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You just have to shake your head in disbelief when you hear former Penang CM Koh Tsu Koon blaming the financial crisis in the 1990s, 9-11 and Sars for the setbacks suffered by Pulau Jerejak Resort.

Stanley Park in Vancouver City - Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Stanley Park in Vancouver City – Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Pathetic. In the first place, the place should never have been given to an Uda-majority joint-venture firm to manage.

Second, the 362-ha Pulau Jerejak should have been turned into a nature reserve for Penangites, already starved of green lungs on the island for rest and recreation. Do you know that the 405-ha Stanley Park (only slightly larger than Pulau Jerejak) next to Vancouver City draws 8 million visitors a year? (Click image above to expand.)

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Allah issue: Long wait for appeal date

Anil Netto
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One year on, and the Allah issue is still in limbo.

Or rather we are still waiting for the Court of Appeal to fix a date for the government’s appeal against the High Court’s landmark decision in favour of the church. For now, though, the Catholic Church’s weekly Herald tabloid is unable to use the term ‘Allah’ as the government has obtained a stay pending appeal.

Meanwhile, the Church has reprinted a rare Malay-Latin dictionary, first published in 1631, which shows that Christianity was already using local languages in the region four centuries ago.

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