Monday, October 03, 2011, 11.47 AM
Join NST's Facebook Community
Bookmark article
Email to friend
Print article
Enlarge font
Reduce font
Penang's development dilemma goes online and to the press
2011/10/02
PENANG is in a dilemma when it comes to development, be they inhabitants, politicians, the state government or local authorities.
Penangites want progress but at the same time, resent development.
Politicians in government promise not to over develop, but they end up giving the nod to projects in the name of boosting the economy and attracting investments.
The local authorities, going by the book, grant approvals to projects after all necessary requirements are fulfilled, and then get criticised by people who are against these new developments.
Many don't like to see new condos, luxury homes and skyscrapers coming up. We don't want to be another concrete jungle, they say. Some object to new malls too.
If a new project is on a hill slope or by the beach, and requires the demolition of an old building (not necessarily a heritage structure) or the felling of trees, the objections would be even louder.
Penangites today are generally "touchy" when it comes to hills, trees, beaches, rivers and old buildings being sacrificed for development.
And in this age, the objections and criticisms are also voiced online via social network sites like Facebook, not just through e-mails circulated all over town.
An individual, group of residents or a non-governmental organisation (NGO) only has to create a Facebook page for its cause, upload a post or video related to the issue at hand, and start a discussion.
Countless comments will pour in over time.
Thanks to sites like Facebook, people who do not think they can get the government, the authorities or even NGOs to listen to them have another outlet to voice their grouses and gain support from other like-minded people.
I salute the efforts some people put in to defend what they believe in and spread the message of nature conservation and heritage preservation, even though what they say would continue to fall on deaf ears.
Take the case of the Kek Lok Si Temple, for instance. Every school holiday and Chinese New Year, the traffic in Air Itam would be at a standstill because hundreds, if not thousands, of people are driving to the temple and also Penang Hill.
Lack of parking space at the temple has long been an issue. So the temple has cleared a piece of land adjacent to it to build a big parking lot for cars and buses.
But for those defending nature, it was bad news.
Angry nature lovers wrote letters and e-mails to state government leaders and the press.
Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringhi residents did not want new developments. They want hills to be preserved because of landslide risks.
The residents voted in a new government, hoping its politicians will listen. Today, these residents, like those in Mount Pleasure, are still protesting against such developments.
When an old bungalow that was demolished without a permit in July last year, the developer was only fined RM6,000 by the court. The local authorities later ordered the developer to rebuild the bungalow. But until today, the bungalow has not been reconstructed and new plans to build a condo on the site have been submitted by the developer.
Again, residents voiced objections to the authorities, including the Chief Minister.
Today, a blog and a Facebook page called "20 Pykett Penang Illegal Demolition" has been created to discuss the Lebuhraya Pykett issue and the protection of beautiful, old structures that are in danger of being torn down.
When all channels fail, people go to the press. They are happy because somebody listened, but others aren't.
So, aren't we all in a pickle in the name of sustainability, progress and public interest?
Read more: Penang's development dilemma goes online and to the press http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/pgo3/Article/#ixzz1Zhn3Eksa
No comments:
Post a Comment