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 better public transport system at Seberang Perai, the Penang Forum misperceived it as cost inflation.

When the Penang government used request-for-proposal (RFP) to call for tender – the same procurement method employed and recognised as open tender by the United Nations, World Bank, and the World Health Organization – the Penang Forum claimed that the RFP was not an open tender.

When the world’s foremost authoritative organisation on climate change, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that “land reclamation is mature and effective technology and can provide predictable levels of safety” to fund climate adaptation projects (Special Report On The Ocean and Cryosphere In A Changing Climate), the Penang Forum protested against reclamation, denying it as climate action.

With such a track record of misperception, and in view of Penang Forum’s recent statement on PTMP, one wonders if the group has completely lost it?

Popular posts from this blog

BRT expert sweet-talking Penang to install bus system?

-
Image
It was reported that Yoga Adiwinarto, country director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) in Jakarta had recommended the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system for Penang in a presentation organised by Think City yesterday. The ITDP specialises in BRT and their institutional mission is to promote the bus system around the world in that their “specific area of expertise is the bus rapid transit (BRT) and we work to spread knowledge about BRT and provide high-level technical assistance to cities pursuing BRT projects in the US and abroad.” Urban planning expert, Diego Silva Ardila has observed that think-tanks like ITDP “have focused on BRT systems as the only plausible solution for urban transport in the developing world, and have not seriously and rigorously analysed the possibilities that rail-based systems have [...]” Ardila further noted that “the think-tanks and their claims have been deemed biased by the fact that they represented the interests of
Read more

Jobs don't drop from the sky #7

-
Image
Our youth unemployment rate has been rising every year in the past 5 years, from 11% in 2016 to 11.72% last year. Are jobs being produced as fast as our youths grow up? Without jobs, what's our youths' future? Without jobs, how to start a family? Without jobs, how to care for aging parents? These are the questions that Hafiz discussed with me. Hafiz is a graduate with a degree in finance. Most of his cohorts have left Penang to work in KL. "Kawan-kawan struggle cari kerja di Penang, dan memang banyak yang pi KL," he said. Although Hafiz wanted to join them, he as the eldest among his siblings had stay back to care for the family. Unable to get a suitable permanent job, Hafiz ended up as a contract worker for several years. When the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) had job openings, Hafiz applied and got his first stable permanent job. After working for 10 months, Hafiz has saved enough to get married. He and his wife are expecting their first child now. Just before Raya
Read more

Jobs don't drop from the sky #5

-
Image
I will continue to write about real Penangites whose life has been changed for the better because of Penang South Reclamation (PSR). These Penangites are not big-name politicians, their story seldom gets highlighted. Nonetheless, they are Penangites who can now earn a decent living for their family due to the project. Therefore, I think their story deserved to be told. Pak Idris and his grandson, Adam are such Penangites. Idris, 66 years old, has worked as a fisherman for over five decades. Adam, now 23, had been helping his grandpa since his teens. Adam shared about an incident when he was 18 years old working in the sea with his grandpa. That day they met with a thunderstorm. Huge waves were hitting their boat. Idris used all his strength to steer the boat to safety, against the strong currents until the vessel almost broke into two. “Tok perlu lawan sampai bot terangkat tinggi, hampir patah dua." Adam said. “Masa tu, kalau hanyut di laut, pun hanyut lah,” Idris added. Fortunate
Read more