The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and the Tanjung Bungah Residents Association (TBRA) are shocked to learn that the Penang state government and the Penang Island City Council have chosen to ignore the objection of the Department of Environment (DoE) for siting the development of the residential project in Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah.
BFM Radio interview: Tanjung Bungah tragedy – who’s to blame?
This is the BFM interview with me on the Tanjung Bungah landslide traged ythat was aired at 8.30am today across the Klang Valley. See what you make of it.
At packed press conference, Penang NGOs call for wide-ranging independent probe on landslide tragedy
Civil society groups in Penang – Penang Forum (of which Aliran is part), the Consumers Association of Penang, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, and residents groups as well as environmental group Peka – turned up in full force at a packed press conference this morning to call for an end to all hill-slope development.
Tanjung Bungah landslide site was the very first case highlighted by Penang Hills Watch
Of the dozens of cases of hill clearing highlighted by Penang Hills Watch, the site of the disaster this morning was the first in a series of dozens of cases brought to the attention of local authorities earlier this year.
Landslide at Tanjung Bungah – this time no rainfall (updated)
A landslide has struck Tanjung Bungah somewhere in the hills near Lorong Lembah Permai 3 in Tanjung Bungah not far from TAR College at around 8.30am today.
Unleash the writer within you! A young writers’ workshop
Aliran invites young people aged 18 to 35 to participate in our Young Writers Workshop with the theme “Youth aspirations and the 14th general election” this weekend 21-22 October 2017 in Penang.
24 residents’ groups issue wake-up call to resolve Penang’s flood problems
This statement was released today by a couple of dozen residents’ group from all over Penang Island in the wake of the worst floods in recent times:
Alarmed by the impact of the recent floods that hit Penang on 15 September 2017, several residents associations and community representatives have gathered together to make a collective call to the state government of Penang and their elected representatives to, this time, take the situation of rainfall, floods and hill erosion very seriously.
Anti-kleptocracy rally: Mahathir outlines Pakatan’s action plan if it wins power
Mahathir pledges that Pakatan would do five things after winning power at the general election:
- Catch M01 and his cohorts.
- Set up a royal commission of inquiry to probe the siphoning of public funds via 1MDB and Felda.
- Set up an independent body to recover public assets and money stolen or siphoned off through corruption.
- Make the MACC an independent body that reports directly to Parliament.
- Abolish direct negotiations for government contracts.
Pakatan pledges to eradicate corruption for the good of the country, adds Mahathir, and make it among the country among the 10 cleanest nations in the world. The billions lost through 1MDB, for instance, could have built 460,000 low-cost homes, provided free education or built 50 hospitals.
Estimated crowd by one eyewitness earlier in the night: up to 8,000. Blog visitor PolitiScheiss, who was there after 8pm, puts the figure at 20,000-30,000. Rally organisers say 25,000. Another friend at the rally says it was unlikely to be 25,000, maybe 10,000-15,000. Perhaps slightly below expectations.
The “boring” football match between Liverpool and Manchester United may have affected the turnout at the rally. Or in this age of social media, many could have been content to follow the event on social media, having already decided whom to vote for.
But blog visitor Khun Pana wonders:
Are those five “pledges” sufficient to secure votes? As it is, it all seems to be limited to anti MO1 and nothing for the commoners.
And if the Pakatan group wins power to form the federal government, will they push forward with the IPCMC (police reforms), local city/town elections, reforms to education, and a secular Malaysia or even with a simple thing like bringing down public transport fares.
Or will it continue to run (the government) just like the BN did? It needs to convince the new voters and change their mindset.
PolitiScheiss concurs:
… the speakers were too heavy on condemnations of corruption, kleptocracy, the 1MDB issue.. and shouts of “Reformasi!” instead of saying more about how a Pakatan government, if elected, will deal with issues such as the rising cost of living, unaffordable housing prices, public transit, declining education standards, affordable public healthcare, the problem of flash floods, environmental degradation and so forth.
Yes, if Pakatan wants to capture public imagination, it should go beyond wiping out corruption and tell us how it can improve the people’s overall wellbeing and quality of life.
Packing them into the Penang Hill Railway trains
Yesterday, 11.30am Penang Hill at the summit waiting inside the train to go downhill.
What is stopping more Penangites from taking the bus and cycling?
Independent film producer, Andrew Ng Yew Fan, one of three winners of the Freedom Film Fest’s Malaysia Film Grants awards, decided to take the bus in Penang. He shares his experience with us.
And this was his experience cycling from Jelutong to Komtar together with activist Que Lin:
This is a more leisurely ride along the coastal bicycle lane from George Town to Queensbay:
So what would it take for you to catch a bus or cycle to work in Penang?