IT IS very predictable that after the environmental impact assessment (EIA) was approved with conditions for the PSR (Penang South Reclamation) project, another round of opposition has emerged.
Two Penang NGOs (non-governmental agencies), notably the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) and Penang Forum (PF), have emerged as the champions of the people who are against the project.
Mind you, the PSR project had to undergo a decade-long gestation period to reach the present stage of progress.
However, rather than regurgitating the same old arguments of the impact of the project on the livelihood of the fishermen and environmental concerns, now the critics have latched on to the recent statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that with the provision of the federal funding (yet to be an announced), the PSR project needed to be scaled down.
If the previous federal governments had paid attention to the traffic congestion in Penang and the need for a public transport system, the PSR project would not have been embarked upon in the first place.
It is too well known to the public that it was the denial of federal funds for a public transport system in Penang that fuelled the idea of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PMTP).
Thus, the development of the three artificial islands in the south of Penang Island was needed to fund the much-needed light rail transit (LRT) system.
As I have said, that PSR project went through a long gestation period of public consultation. Many of the issues raised by the NGOs were dealt with although it might not have been to the satisfaction of the NGOs and the opposition.
Hurling brickbats
Mind you the state elections are fast approaching and coupled with Anwar’s announcement, the opposition – principally the NGOs in Penang – have been imbued with fresh energy to oppose the project.
They are asking the project to be cancelled as the LRT is an outmoded system of public transport. They are suggesting alternative means that would not put pressure on the roads and the environment.
One NGO leader went to the extent of describing the LRT as a proverbial “albatross around the neck of the Penang state government”.
This analogy is not only apt but cast aspersions on the Penang state government as though the whole episode surrounding the PSR project is immoral or sinful. The Penang state government has been accused of immorality even before the project has begun.
Despite the constant talks of transport alternatives, these civil society organisations have not fully fleshed out their alternatives to the LRT. As they say, criticisms are lot easier than doing things. One NGO – by capitalising on Anwar’s statement – had gone to the extent of saying that the entire PSR project smacks of bad planning.
These NGOs in Penang have participated in the various state-organised deliberations on the PSR project.
Not turning blind eye
It is not that the Penang state government does not take into considerations of the views of the members of the civil society. But to what extent these members of the civil society are representatives of the majority of the people remains to be seen.
It is not that the Penang state government does not value their criticisms and comments of these NGOs. The criticisms of the NGOs might have rendered the entire PSR project without scrutiny that was necessary.
Ultimately, the elected government of the day must make the decision in the larger interest of the people of the state. Failure to resolve the horrendous traffic congestion in the state would be ultimately attributed to the failure of the government of the day.
It is not that state has not listened to the views of the members of the civil society – they are loud and clear. However, the responsibility of managing and reducing the traffic woes remains with the elected government.
Failure to respond to the grievances of the people might be disastrous to the government in the long run. It is not that the Penang state government rejected the idea of scaling down the project if the federal government comes with the funding.
How much federal funding will be provided and to what extent the project will be scaled down remains to be seen. – May 9, 2023
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the DAP state assemblyman for Perai. He is also Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
