Our guest writer today is Eric Cheah, a concerned Penangite.
Two and a half weeks ago, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow reportedly rebutted ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s criticism of the proposed Pan Island Link phase one (PIL1), a key infrastructural component of the so-called “Penang Transport Master Plan” (PTMP).
Motorists in rush-hour traffic this evening from 5.30 to 6.15 had something else to chew on – a protest by a multi-ethnic group of Penang residents concerned about plans for massive land reclamation and mega highways which will ruin the environment.
Here are two articles by Loh-Lim Lin Lee and Mike Tan, which provide a more realistic, alternative perspective of the unsustainable development model in Penang. These pieces are in response to an article “Penang’s curse” by a Nisha Sharma in Free Malaysia Today. Take the time to read and mull over the two responses below.
So Umno has won in Semenyih but what must alarm Pakatan Harapan – and the many who voted for change last year – is the 5% drop in the share of votes it received.
A group of environmentally conscious people held an impromptu flash mob at busy Jalan Masjid Negeri/Green Lane this afternoon against the state’s massive and environmentally damaging land reclamation plan and ill-conceived highways.
Clare Rewcastle Brown’s revelation that Sarawak Report received RM1.4m (GBP260,000) towards it legal fees in an out-of-court settlement has put the spotlight firmly on Pas president Hadi Awang and his key party colleagues, who have been unflinching in their support for him.
Here’s something I wrote last week.
Nowhere is spared in Penang from the ever-encroaching concrete jungle.
Fourteen prominent Penang-based civil society groups have endorsed a letter to the chief of the Sunway Group over a controversial hill slope project, which they claim does not abide with the UN’s sustainable development goals.
It looks as if the high-end housing glut has churned out some natural brilliance among certain quarters. (There, I said the g-word: glut, glut, glut…)