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Kg Buah Pala disintegrates under hammer blows

Anil Netto
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39

It was a sad, sad day for Kampung Buah Pala as a demolition team smashed the homes of villagers who had struggled to protect and preserve their 200-year-old settlement.

Photos by an eye-witness

1930: “My heart is completely broken today. Where were all the NGOs and political parties?” lamented a volunteer who had stood by the villagers. “Nobody was there … to see for themselves the pain the people went through. (I was) standing there and watching the demolition helplessly.”

“Even trees were not spared. A goat took refuge under a tractor. Dogs and cats were helpless with nowhere to go.”

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Stop targeting Malaysiakini, say NGOs

Anil Netto
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7

About 30 activists this morning voiced their concern about the MCMC’s action against Malaysiakini over its videos relating to the ‘cow-head’ protest.

Photos by Rakyat@work

They held a brief gathering outside the Malaysiakini office at 10.00am, followed by a press conference in the Malaysiakini office.

The main NGO speaker (centre among group of speakers) was Amin Iskandar, director of the National Institute of Electoral Integrity.

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Labuan residents suffer as taps run dry

Anil Netto
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17

Is this a sign of things to come as our planet contends with water shortages aggravated by competing demand from the public and demand from industry (to cater to ever-increasing production of consumer goods, which in turn requires more raw materials)?

Why haven’t we heard more about the Labuan water shortages? Some 80,000 Labuan residents, including 4,000 students, have been faced with a serious water shortage since July.

Bernama reports that demand for water in Labuan is about 56 million litres a day but supply (from the mainland) is only at 42 million litres, a shortfall of 25 per cent. But 10 million litres (about a quarter) of the water supply is consumed by Petronas’ mega methanol plant (photo here).

And the people suffer.

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“Negative NGOs”

Anil Netto
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8

The release of the federally sanctioned report on the sexual abuse of Penan women and girls has prompted contrasting reactions from Sarawak government leaders.

Take a look at the Borneo Post, which reports that Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu, who had not seen the official report, took a swipe at the messengers, the “negative NGOs”, while casting aspersions on the contents:

Doubts over KL Penan rape report
By Churchill Edward

Jabu says negative NGOs could have a hand in federal government finding

KUCHING: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu yesterday questioned the credibility of a government report about allegations of rape of Penan women.

Although he has not seen the actual report from a special task force set up by the federal government as of yesterday, he believed negative non-governmental organisations (NGOs) could have a hand in it.

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Samy’s men win, but MIC faces uncertain future

Anil Netto
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15

Samy Vellu’s men might have swept the top posts in the MIC party elections, but the future of race-based politics and parties remains distinctly bleak.

Leaving aside the lack of renewal in the party’s top leadership, the reality is that race-based parties are catering to a shrinking “market”, despite the best attempts of politicians to whip up ethnic sentiment. Thus, we now see attempts to use religion for political mileage. All this at great cost to unity.

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One Malaysia or two Malaysias?

Anil Netto
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18

Do we really have OneMalaysia or two Malaysias – one for the rich and the other for the lower-income group. Here’s something I wrote for Aliran:

The Najib administration has touted its One Malaysia slogan in the weeks leading up to the Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebrations.

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Demolition of shophouses along Magazine Road

Anil Netto
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38

The Penang Heritage Trust has come up with the following statement on the demolition of several shop-houses in George Town.

Photos by Penang Media

The PHT regrets the initial demolition by the state government of the traditional shop-houses along Magazine Road which is part of the historic ‘Sia Boey’ enclave.

We had earlier inspected the buildings and spoken to the residents of the area on their invitation. While these buildings are not situated strictly within the heritage enclave (which is bordered by the Prangin Canal), they nevertheless form part of the established communities living and providing services in the inner city.

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Artists capture last impressions of Kg Buah Pala

Anil Netto
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37

While many Penangites and other Malaysians fail to see anything of value in Kampung Buah Pala, 14 of Penang’s top artists felt otherwise.

This morning, a downpour did not deter them from descending on the village to capture images of the village for posterity.

As the artists caressed their canvases with deft flicks of the brush, the thuds of ongoing demolition work broke the tranquility of the village – no doubt, music to the ears of the developer. A herd of cows grazed on a hillock behind while a couple ambled closer as their curiosity got the better of them.

Among the renown artists were Chong Hon Fatt, who runs an art gallery in George Town, and Ong Choon Hoo from Bukit Mertajam.

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Fire in a kampung

Anil Netto
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6

A morning blaze in a kampung off Mengkuang Road in Butterworth

Fire in a kampung

From a distance, grey plumes
Darken the morning sky,
Someone’s in trouble,
Someone’s home is ablaze.

Passers-by gawk in awe,
Fire-fighters frustrated,
As hoses run dry,
Valuable moments lost.

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Pg Transport Council’s biggest test could be Porr

Anil Netto
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34

The Penang State Exco has set up a Penang Transport Council, whose motto is “moving people, not cars”. The biggest and most formidable challenge for the Council, however, is how it responds to any attempt to revive the highly controversial Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr) project.

The formation of the council, chaired by state exco member Chow Kon Yeow, is a step in the right direction. The Council’s task is to tackle transport problems especially trying to get the public to move away from “over-dependence on private transport to a more economically and ecologically sustainable public transport system. The system will be people-centric and part of the council’s task is also to increase public awareness, participation in and acceptance of such a system.”

The council is made up of “state and city council members, civil servants, university professors, professionals, stakeholders, and members of the public with interest in and knowledge of transport issues”.

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