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Penang Global City Centre: Activists step up campaign

Anil Netto
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Activists have stepped up the campaign as the stakes rise. The developer has taken its PR blitz to the shopping malls, but activists have been meeting residents neighbouring the PGCC project site who are worried about the impact of the project.

Here we see heritage conservationist Loh-Lim Lin Lee, architect Laurence Loh and heritage activist Dr Choong Sim Poey briefing Scotland Park residents and exposing the deception inherent in the development plan. Make sure you catch all four parts of the video and see them passionately and eloquently arguing against the project.

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And so the PGCC PR battle begins…

Anil Netto
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PGCC roadshow Queensbay Mall

The PGCC developer has taken its road-show to Queensbay Mall

Looks like the PR battle has begun. The Penang Global City Centre developer is on a road show promoting its project in Queensbay Mall and Gurney Plaza in Penang.

Just received in the email the following hypothetical conversation between the pro-PGCC lobby and a member of the public.

Would have been hilarious if there wasn’t a ring (more like alarm bells) of truth about the details of the project. Though the conversation below is probably hypothetical, I am told that those promoting the project do not have all the answers when questioned by people who are more in touch with what the plan actually entails. Makes you wonder if they really believe what they are being paid to promote.

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Milan and Penang: Trams vs Monorail/PORR/PGCC

Anil Netto
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Monorail Penang routeGreetings from Milan! I am here presenting a paper at a conference.

Walking around the city, I must say I have been impressed with Milan’s excellent network of underground trains, trams (old and modern), buses and taxies – though locals tell me there is still room for improvement.

But first, what’s this? Someone alerted me to a Penang monorail route map posted on Wikipedia. I am not sure who posted that entry:

“The Penang Monorail is a future monorail line to be constructed under the Ninth Malaysia Plan and Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER). It will be located on Penang Island. Two lines will be built, with possible extensions to Province Wellesley in the future. The 37km system is expected to cost RM 1.1 billion.

“The names of all the stations on the monorail are still mostly unknown, although the main stops are confirmed. The Red Line will run between Tanjung Tokong and the Penang International Airport via Scotland Road, Jalan Air Itam and the Penang State Mosque. The Green Line will run between Paya Terubong and Weld Quay Terminal, via Jalan Air Itam, Jalan Dato’ Keramat, and Komtar. The interchange will be situated at Jalan Air Itam.”

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“It is people like Hishamudin who should be heading the judiciary”

Anil Netto
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Justice Hishamudin has created waves with his decision to punish the government for its detention and torture of activist Abdul Malek Hussin. In the wake of his decision, some Malaysians are even suggesting that if the government really wants to restore the shine back to the judiciary, then judges like Hishamudin should be allowed to head the judiciary.

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Damages Award Exposes Internal Security Act

By Anil Netto

PENANG, Oct 24 (IPS) – A stunning court decision awarding a huge sum in damages to an activist who was detained without trial and tortured has galvanised activists campaigning for the repeal of Malaysia’s harsh Internal Security Act (ISA).

It has also put a little shine back in the judiciary, which has been rocked by an explosive video clip apparently revealing the fixing of judical appointments and promotions by a coterie of well-connected individuals in legal, business and political circles. Full article

It’s a PGCC jungle out there, folks!

Anil Netto
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PGCC with 38 towers from Komtar

Here is one guy’s impression of what the PGCC would look like from Komtar. KL Dude has had a go on photo editor with the earlier picture of the PGCC Twin Towers posted on this blog; only this time he has actually added the 38 towers in front of those “iconic” towers. Perhaps his impression is not really to scale, but you get the idea… It’s a (concrete) jungle out there, folks!

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It’s a home-grown resistance movement in Iraq

Anil Netto
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The New York Times has finally admitted in an op-ed video – in contradiction to some of its own reports – what many of us already knew: that the US war in Iraq is largely against a determined home-grown resistance movement against Occupation (yes, the ‘O’ word). Check it out.

Now you can watch Fahmi Reza’s hartal film

Anil Netto
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Go here to watch Fahmi Reza’s outstanding film on the 1947 hartal – the winner of the 2007 Freedom Film Festival. It’s worth the watch.

Surprise! Migrant workers from Malaysia remit more home

Anil Netto
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While Malaysians tend to look down on neighbouring countries because their workers are forced to work abroad and remit money home, few of us realise that, as a percentage of GDP, migrant workers from Malaysia remit more home than those from Indonesia and Thailand.

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Wanna peek into the future…?

Anil Netto
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PGCC from Komtar

From one sorry-looking tower to another two: This is what the PGCC will look like from Komtar – but please, please remember that there are going to be 38 other high-rise towers in front of the crooked twin towers!

Just read a Star report that says Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon has rejected ‘suggestions’ (I thought they were demands) from NGOs for more public hearings on the PGCC. He was echoing State Local Government Committee chairman Teng Hock Nan’s statement on Sunday that there would not be any public hearings on the project.

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Why are we subsidising the profitable IPPs?

Anil Netto
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Why are Malaysians – via Petronas – providing billions of ringgit in gas subsidies to the profitable IPPs?

And yet, the government is always complaining it has to pay so much in fuel subsidies for the people. What about the gas subsidies to the IPPs? The owners of the IPPs are not exactly poor. In fact, they are prominent billionaires.

So why is all the focus only on Tenaga, which is being squeezed in the middle?

That’s the question I tried to explore in this article for IPS.

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