Is this goodbye to the Penang that I know?

To me, Penang is as beautiful and unique as it is now. With the PTMP and its LRT, more highways and wide roads, it is KL all over again.

Noor Aiman Muhammad Rizal

Studying in KL for almost three years now, I really look forward to coming back to Penang, obviously no doubt because of the food. But it’s more than that. I ‘run back’ to Penang to get away from the bustling life of KL. I feel swamped, suffocated and the likes, I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way in KL.

Penang is my home, where I will take long drives from my house in Batu Maung to Gurney Drive, where I spend some of my afternoons by Gurney Drive or the shores of Permatang Damar Laut to see fishermen casting their nets, where I proudly promote Penang to my international friends for their summer break. I might have to say goodbye to both these places, both due to reclamation.

Over the recent years, I see more green areas being turned into ‘affordable’ homes and ‘accessible’ roads to ease traffic. I see already less sea shores and beaches that Penang is famous for but somehow the Penang state government doesn’t seem to value these.  I heard three new islands might pop up out of nowhere. As a result, we might see more “botak hills” as the soil for reclamation has to come from somewhere. I see pollution of our coasts, the greying of our greens, the unpredictable weather, more floods and maybe even droughts in the future.

I feel that I am slowly losing Penang, what if one day I will not be able to call Penang my home? What if one day Penang can no longer be a getaway for me? Well, if you are wondering, that is what the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) will do to our Penang and wipe out the beautiful memories of it.

To me, Penang is as beautiful and unique as it is now. With the PTMP and its LRT, more highways and wide roads, it is KL all over again. Yes, Penang will lose its human scale and become an island designed for cars and jammed with it. I don’t understand why cars are given so much priority and rights over the pedestrians and cyclists. We have to destroy Penang to give way and cater to cars. That is what the PTMP seems to do. And in the process give away our precious resources which could be much better utilised for the welfare of Penangites.

And what are the likelihood of more flashfloods occurring? If PTMP goes on, we should be prepared for more flash floods like the recent ones in Permatang Damar Laut and Bayan Lepas, all due to road constructions and development.

I will not be enjoying the view in Permatang Damar Laut anymore, all I will see in the near future will be land reclamations and constructions of the proposed three man-made islands. We have not learnt from past reclamations and how they have destroyed Gurney Drive. Erosion and sedimentation will hit Penang’s coastline.

In this hectic, self-engrossed world we live in today, I need my Penang to keep me in touch with nature, slowing down to reflect and see things clearly. I need Penang to still be able to experience and appreciate the simple things in life, the pleasant trips I take to the town, the morning jogs in Gurney Drive and my laksa by Permatang Damar Laut.

So we can forget about our selfies by Gurney Drive, forget about the strolls and drives, forget about leaving an hour early to catch our movie. Just forget about the Penang we know now,our realities and lives in Penang will change if we don’t stop to think of what we want from Penang and ask whether we really need the PTMP.