Chow Kon Yeow: 曹观友

Press Statement by DAP Penang chairman and MP for Tanjong Chow Kon Yeow on Saturday, 17 February 2007.
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Prime Minister should direct the scrapping of the Sungai Nyior toll plaza
at the Butterworth Outer Ring Road
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It is a minor victory for the people when the government announced the suspension of toll collection at the Sungai Nyior toll plaza.

It is not often that the government is forced by public opinion to reverse an unpopular decision, especially those that involved privatization of roads and highways.

However it is totally untenable for the government to justify toll collection at Sungai Nyior as the toll plaza was built on an existing road not directly related to the Butterworth Outer Ring Road project.

Toll should not be collected there in the first place.

The people can only claim final victory when the toll plaza is scrapped altogether. The move to build alternative roads now by the State Government is just a public relation exercise to pacify the angry electorates.

The DAP therefore calls on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to heed public opinion in Penang and direct the removal of Sungai Nyior toll plaza.

Wishing all a Happy and Progressive Year of the Boar.

Gongxi, Gongxi.

You are invited to Penang DAP CNY Open House on 24 February 2007, 11.00 am at the Gan Association, Perak Road.

Opinion
Sunday February 11, 2007

Stage for a big battle

By JOCELINE TAN

joceline@thestar.com.my

The grand battle this general election will be in Penang as DAP’s Lim Guan Eng prepares to team up with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of Keadilan to take advantage of what they see as the season of discontent.

THE Year of the Dog has not been all that pleasant for Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. It has been full of challenges for him, some of which undermined his image as Penang Chief Minister.

But the Dog Year is coming to an end. Will the Year of the Boar be more auspicious for Dr Koh?

Not if the general election is called this year and more so if the DAP goes ahead with its most ambitious political design on Penang since 1995.

As many in Penang would know by now, the DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat are planning to gang up against Barisan Nasional in one of those “lawan tetap lawan” fights this general election. (more…)

Date : 19/12/2006
Headline : Deeper stain on the Pearl of the Orient
Byline : By Syed Nadzri

SOME things just don’t change about Penang. Two years after a concerted
effort was initiated to clean it up and bring back the shine to the Pearl
of the Orient, the island is still dirty. And 16 years on, the DAP hasn’t
given up its hope of capturing the state. (more…)

DOMINATING the island’s skyline, Komtar (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak) is the landmark of Penang and touted to be the icon of its urban renewal programme.

But this imposing structure now serves as a “colossal reminder” to uncompleted projects under the five-phase Komtar master plan.

For some, it is also an image of neglect and for the harsher ones, it is a reminder of how Penang has lagged behind other states.

Komtar, once the pride of Penang, is in need of a major makeover in order for it to compete with modern shopping malls.
The Komtar plan was conceived following the appointment of the state’s development arm, Penang Development Corporation, to undertake the project in 1969.

Till today, more than 30 years later, only two and a half phases have been completed. (more…)

IT has become the norm for Penangites these days to put up structures first before applying for approval.

Tanjung MP Chow Kon Yeow said the problem of illegal structures was “everywhere in town'’ which indicated that the council was weak in its enforcement.

“Many resort to putting up illegal structures because of the frustration of having to wait a year or two for approval due to red tape,” he said.

He added that it was time for the council to make the approval process shorter.

Chow was commenting on the glass box-like side entrance to the Tanjung Umno division building on Bishop Street. The council has issued a notice to the owner to demolish the illegal extension or get council approval. (more…)

TNB issues pay-up order

BY PRISCILLA DIELENBERG

PENANG: At least 24 people have been or-dered by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to pay a total of more than RM150,000 in compensation for alleged meter tampering over the years.

Four of them are disputing the allegation and the compensation they were ordered to pay.

They are calling on others in the same boat to contact them.

Aquarium owner Tong Soo Hong, 25, said the four of them would help those in similar situations to file claims as a group.

“We already have more than 20 people and we intend to file our claims next week,” he said.

“But we will continue to help others who contact us after that,” he told a press conference at the state DAP headquarters here yesterday. (more…)