Misperception clouding Penang Forum’s view of transport plan
The Penang Forum steering committee’s statement about the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), published by Free Malaysia Today today, has again misled the public by alleging that the project has failed because it involves land reclamation through a joint-venture (JV). As often announced by Penang state officials, the reclamation is part of the financing method for PTMP. The federal government has not been forthcoming in offering financial grants to fund the PTMP. The loan guarantee to build the Light Rail Transit (LRT) has also been cancelled by Putrajaya. In order to build a reliable public transport system in Penang, the state government has to find ways to kick-start the project. Forming a JV company to begin the planned land reclamation work is a huge step towards realising the PTMP, which unfortunately had been misperceived by Penang Forum. Nevertheless, misperception is not alien to Penang Forum. When the PTMP included the LRT line, BRT line, and monorail line to provide a bette