Residents divided over coastal route
Penangites alo
the island’s north coast seem divided over the North Coastal Paired Road (NCPR) project.
Some residents in Tanjung Bungah want the road plan scrapped but many in Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang want it as soon as possible.
“Do you know what it was like after the recent big landslide? We were cut off for two weeks. No fuel, no groceries.
“That day, my son had to take his SPM exams and I took him to school by travelling in a big round through Balik Pulau,” said Penang Nature Tourist Guides Association chairman Fauzi Mohd Yacob in Teluk Bahang.
He was referring to twin disasters on Nov 7 when a landslide buried the road between Teluk Bahang and Batu Ferringhi while another road section fell into the sea after a downpour.
“I’m a nature guide and if you want to cut down a tree, I will say no.
“But there is a difference between a need and a want. And the NCPR is needed,” Fauzi said.
A team from The Star spoke to residents, shopkeepers, fishermen and taxi drivers on Monday to get their views on the NCPR.
Food stall owner Sharifah Feisol, 54, from Batu Ferringhi, said she once saw an ambulance with siren blaring stuck in traffic.
“It tried to squeeze through the jam but the road was too narrow and the cars had no space to make way for it. It was a nightmare!”
Fisherman Wong Tien Swee, 35, felt that people should not object to the NCPR unless they live in the northwestern corner of the island.
“Just one small accident along the way and the lorries to collect our fish will be hours late,” he said.
Taxi driver Loo Ah Huat, 81, said he had been servicing Batu Ferringhi for the past 50 years and watched the traffic problems grow.
“On weekends or holidays or after an accident, the whole way from Hard Rock Hotel to the Tanjung Bungah floating mosque will be heavily jammed. We need a new road now.”
But in Tanjung Bungah, a few residents expressed fears that the NCPR might bring traffic from Teluk Bahang and Batu Ferringhi to the Vale of Tempe area.
Retired teacher Ong Nyuk Foong, 59, argued that Jalan Lembah Permai was already congested with new housing developments, an international school and university college.
“The NCPR will make it worse. We don’t want it,” she said.
It was reported in The Star on Monday that the Tanjung Bungah Residents Association got 400 people to sign a petition and wrote to the Department of Environment, urging it not to approve the detailed environmental impact assessment report of the road.
It listed several grounds for objection including the cost-to- benefit, deforestation, construction on slopes steeper than 25 degrees, noise and air pollution.
The NCPR is a 10.53km four-lane road built on hill slopes starting from near SK Teluk Bahang and ending at the L-shaped bend of Jalan Lembah Permai at Sri Vazhikattum Muniswarar Temple in Tanjung Bungah.
Source: TheStar.com.my
AIYA, it is all about selfish-ness for those who object it. Because the highway will build right in front of their house and bring noise/dust pollution to them, also drive down their property value.
For these bunch of people, their mindset is “YAYA I like more highway to be built, please help solve congestion. WHAT?? U want to build highway near my house? NO WAY! Don’t want I don’t want that highway, go away!!!!!!! Go build elsewhere! ”
Selfish, very selfish….
@Lam
Whoa, you are good ! You can be a very good scriptwriter I reckoned !
@Lam
Well, I guess you are in a way correct. Everyone is selfish. Everyone has his own agenda. The taxi driver supports it because he wants to earn more money by travelling faster (not selfish?), the fisherman has his own selfish reasons, retired teacher Miss Ong has her own selfish reasons, Mr Sim who owns The Escape has his own selfish reasons of getting more people to visit his theme park so that he can make more money and buy more sports cars to cruise around.
So I don’t think it’s wrong for one to think of one’s own well being. But here’s the thing about building more roads and thinking that traffic jams will disappear. It won’t. There is always a bottleneck along the route. You get rid of the bottleneck along the coastal road, you will in turn create another bottleneck in Batu Feringhi or somewhere. You solve that, another one appears. Simple concept of bottleneck. Those guys up there are aware of that after being briefed by experts, but they dont care. This is big money, that’s what they care. *sigh*. God bless Penang.
@DaddyYankee
Then don’t anything at all will solve and save all problem ?
don’t build highway passing my house. batu ferringgi problem is not my problem.
@Bungah residents
Haha, you sound exactly as my relative who lives somewhere near hillside there. Great minds think alike ?
Hi all,
It seems to be everyone has his own agenda, I would say that their view is not coming from development instead it is selfish for their own interested as noises.
Personally from my view, as long as state government is doing the right thing for the good of people, they should go ahead with the plan, of course, state government has to public the plan to everyone in accordance with rule and law, in fact, one plan can not serve to everyone. those noises should be ignored unless they can prove his substance plan which can benefit to everyone. Noises are only benefited if the development is wrongly plan which cause the environment impact, then those noises are valid. it shall be monitored to ensure it is well constructed and properly developed.
Please think twice before making unnecessary noises. development is a path to bring Penang to next level, we have to move forward, i know that it might be inconvenience to those who in retirement which may cause heavy traffic flow once the highway is built, do not use landslide or environmental impact as a reason, but what is the choice do we have, traffic congestion is getting worse year by year, if one too much worry about that, why not consider to stay in balik Pulau, there are plenty of trees and natural resources, it might be an ideal location if you want to be peace of mind.
No offend, it is my personal view.
this is a good planning…will be a major boost in welfare and development for those who live in batu ferenghi and teluk bahang.
Hi James,
Thank you for sharing, I am not offended at all by your comments, although I can hardly understand what you’re trying to say for most of the part of your comment.
But one thing you said that really struck me was “Please think twice before making unnecessary noises. development is a path to bring Penang to next level…..”. I think the word “development” has been grossly misunderstood, especially in the context of “bringing Penang to next level”.
Many advance first world countries have been trying to “take cars off the roads” by experimenting with new innovative approach as they find “more roads & more cars” don’t bring any value to “bringing their economies to the next level”. It’s the “software”, not “hardware” that matter most. And here, our nature that provides fresh clean air to this beautiful island is being destroyed to give way to building hardware that we will live to regret later on, such stupidity.
I am fully support to build the highway
DaddyYankee, I agree with you. This new coastal road will eventually choke up Batu Feringghi one day, then it will loose it’s attraction to tourists. Although our sea water is very dirty, tourists still come here to get a feel of the slow kampung lifestyle by the sea in batu feringghi. It is a big mistake to turn it into another congested suburban town like sungai ara. I really worry this current state gov will destroy everything in penang.
I rather have clean fresh air rather than intoxicating exhaust fumes.
@PenangResidents
Don’t simply blame the current state gov for this and that. The world now is developing fast enough these days and of course, not everything is solely vested on a single party. It ain’t that easy to manage when one is facing a “real, big, general world !
The opposition in Penang is now having a great field day to hammer down DAP ?
@DaddyYankee
what I can say is from your comment, it is partly correct in the sense of environmental friendly only but not the whole scenario, unfortunately, we have to understand it is Penang in Malaysia, our economic can not be identical for comparison with others, we are still a developing country, there is no better to option to sustain our food on the table if we don’t move on, every development comes with price but it has to be done in proper way, in fact, I don’t discourage full scarification or compromise for any development, I love Penang too especially in Island especially, hill, beach and green that can be well preserved, that would be great.
But a fact is a fact, environment friendly doesn’t come with free, look at Australia, their citizen has to pay the tax to their government for consuming more electricity (At evening and night) and more carbon dioxide from business like factory. With the current situation in Penang, Penang need a good infrastructure system to solve traffic congestion. it was what I mean of bringing to next level in term of transportation and infrastructure system. Nevertheless, We can’t use their (Developed countries) as benchmark to evaluate our country but knowledge for reference or guideline is still acceptable. As mentioned, fresh air comes with price, nothing is free unless you stay away from city, Balik pulau is still a good location for environmental friendly.
We have to evaluate the current situation and find the balance point instead of just talking about natural environment factor, without a good infrastructure in driving our economic, nothing will improve and our economic will stuck, do you think the talent will stay here? that is why criteria to bring up a good city is not merely on natural environment but also with economic friendly. there must be a pull factor to welcome talent to stay in our state instead of benefiting to small group of society.
My 2 cents.
For those against the building of the roads there is nothing much to worry for the moment. Who is going to fund the building of the roads? Last i heard the consortium for the tunnel project was supposed to build it as part of the whole excercise. China partners have pulled out. Where is the money going to come from?
How many of those who oppose to new road take public transport daily? Probably none..
They drive daily but when state gov wants to build new road passing their taman for others, all kinds of excuse come out.. sigh.
@Penangites
Actually, more than half of those who signed the petition do not live in the taman through which the NCPR is cutting. Most of them live in the super condos by the sea. So one might ask, since they are not directly affected, why the hack are they protesting? The reason is very simple, they love penang, and they love their neighbors, and the environment in which they live.
But their selfless act has been misconstrued by many as a selfish act, their effort deliberately undermined by those who stand to gain millions from big project spending. Sometimes I really pity these activists. They don’t get paid, they spend hours and hours writing up petitions and, prepare banners, talking to concerned citizens, and in the end, this is what they get. *sigh*. God bless Penang.
you all talk talk talk only. highway still happend or not?
Wont happen 1 lah… no china funding, no federal funding…
@Timmy
No joke mann ! It’s over RM1 Billion, where is the money !
China wont fund tbis project cos the reclaim land will not get China ppl come buy due to China capital control. look at johor mega projects without China buyers now, the sales offices is closing down n the project launch cancelled.
@James
Sensible, sensible enough ! A good post i would say !
I have just driven back from Georgetown,there are numerous parts of the road that have cracks as the road is slipping towards the sea The traffic is non stop and the noisy motor bikes that think when they hit the straight at the Rasa they are on a racetrack. We need another road and we need some speed bumps from the Army Camp to beyond the entrance to the Rasa. We are also waiting for the work to begin on the now approved building of a hotel between the Rasa and The Army Camp. Can you imagine what that will be like right on that very fast bend AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!