Now this might or might not be the solution to overcoming bottlenecks that reduce the speed of buses. But it does show the sort of thinking and creativity that others are already putting in to improve public transport.
How about us? Can we think beyond highway tolls and Protons?
For the past couple of days, I have been going in and out of a global conference in Penang on forests, biodiversity, community rights and indigenous peoples organised by Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific.
The theme “Ecological equity: Sharing the stories, reclaiming our rights” couldn’t have been more timely. Listening to the heart-rending stories from indigenous representative and activists from places such as Philippines, Uganda and Bolivia, I realised that the indigenous groups in Sarawak who are struggling to protect their native customary rights land are not alone.
Now, here’s a multiple choice question on Najib’s plan to build a new mega-tower by 2015 that would dwarf the Petronas Twin Towers.
Why do we need the proposed RM5 billion 100-storey Warisan Merdeka Tower (to be built by Permodalan Nasional Berhad)?
A. We have a serious shortage of commercial space in the Klang Valley. Plus the boys could do with more contracts.
B. We have a healthy fiscal surplus and we don’t know what to do with all that spare cash. RM5 billion is petty cash-lah. Huh? Fiscal deficit? What fiscal deficit? Nah, cannot be.
C. No major earthquake will ever strike our country.
D. Najib’s tower has to be higher than Mahathir’s Twin Towers. And we have excellent public transport to ensure congestion is minimal. Besides, we could call it a super-duper ‘zero-carbon’ green tower.
E. Because Malaysia Boleh! “The most important thing is that we can do it. Why should we hold back?” as Ng Yen Yen puts it. A tower is more important for the rakyat. They will be so proud.
F. I don’t know. I give up. You tell me.
Three different entities are said to be eyeing the north-south highway cash-cow.
The miners in Chile may have been miraculously rescued, but there are ghosts in that country that linger after the repression of the Pinochet years. Chile, after all, has its own Sept 11.
This is the hidden story that the mainstream media have not reported:
The accident that trapped the miners is not unusual in Chile and the inevitable consequence of a ruthless economic system that has barely changed since the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Copper is Chile’s gold, and the frequency of mining disasters keeps pace with prices and profits. There are, on average, 39 fatal accidents every year in Chile’s privatised mines. The San Jose mine, where the men work, became so unsafe in 2007 it had to be closed – but not for long. On 30 July last, a labour department report warned again of “serious safety deficiencies ”, but the minister took no action. Six days later, the men were entombed.
Of late, Gamuda-MMC has been mentioned in connection with the RM36b MRT project for Klang Valley – the biggest mega project so far. But why has an MRT proposal been put forward when the national public transport policy is not yet ready?
The thing is, the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) has just been formed. And one of its first tasks is to come up with an integrated national public transport policy, followed by regional public transport policies. Spad is now working on the national policy in parallel with the regional policy for the Greater KL/Klang Valley area.
in the aftermath of the Rajang River logjam, this image of the Sarawak edition of The Star says it all. ‘Overlogged’. No prizes for figuring out who is responsible.
On the surface, the DAP appears to have stitched a peace formula to unite rival factions in Perak after a recent flare-up.
