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.
As for cleanliness, even the State Tourism Committee chairman Teng
Chang Yeow admitted that Penang is still dirty, as was reported in this
paper last week.
“The general perception among people is that Penang is dirty. There is
rubbish everywhere and the toilets are filthy. Then there are flash
floods every time it rains. The local authorities must work doubly hard
to keep the state clean,” he said.
It’s tiring to keep on talking about this subject. But if it is not
resolved, there’s more worry to come - perhaps a greater one - over the
messy traffic system.
Given the present situation, sometimes we wonder whether the island
would turn out to be a gridlock of cars when the second bridge linking
the island and mainland opens, and the present bridge is widened.
It appears to be headed that way now. Naturally, the improved links
would open the island to more cars, and if the planners don’t wake up,
there’ll be trouble.
Just look at the Jelutong coastal highway from the bridge to town. Does
it look like a solution to congestion at all?
As for politics, the DAP seems to know when it is the best time to set
its sights on Penang again.
This time, party members have urged their top leaders to contest in the
state in the next general election. And Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow
said last week that leaders like DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng
should contest in Penang as it was one of the party’s frontline states.
He said there were positive vibes on the ground that people wanted
change in Penang. “I think we (the DAP) stand a good chance, the mood out
there is that people are fed-up with what is happening.”
The DAP should be brave enough to declare Tanjung 4 now.
(END)