Penang Forum labeled as extremist

Published by New Straits Times • 12/05/2019 • 08:25 pm

A civil group here has labeled the Penang Forum as being “extremists” for initiating a petition to the prime minister to call off the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project. (NSTP Archive)

GEORGE TOWN: A civil group here has labeled the Penang Forum as being “extremists” for initiating a petition to the prime minister to call off the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

Anak Pinang, a non-governmental organisation backing the PSR and the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) , said public opinion of the project was divided and hence the Forum should conduct expert studies to prove its point.

The Forum steering committee member Khoo Salma had started the petition to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, listing 20 points why the PSR should be shelved.

The PSR is a plan by the Penang government to reclaim three islands measuring 1,821ha in total.

It would be later sold to carry out the RM46 billion PTMP, where light rail transit, highways and other modes of public transport would be built.

In a statement, Anak Pinang spokesman Timothy Tye said despite the Forum’s points being rejected “over and over”, they still submitted a petition.

He said the Forum’s dismissal and belittling of Anak Pinang’s concerns did not help in resolving the latter’s core issues, which involved Penang’s traffic issues.

“And when they dismiss any form of protest against their position as childish … isn’t their brand of democracy as authoritarian as that of the “Democratic” Republic of Germany (German Democratic Republic)?

“When their opinion is rejected over and over, they still proceed to submit a petition to cancel the Penang South Reclamation, is that not a form of extremism?” Tye asked.

He said with the opinion on the PSR being “divided”, those opposing it should give solid evidence why it should not be carried out.

“Now that the protest has erupted over their petition to cancel PSR, we demand answers from those who oppose PSR: what do you know of our concerns, and what plans do you have to address them?

“Are our concerns unimportant to you? Are you going to continue dismissing our concerns as the product of childish, warped minds, not worthy of address, and your headlong push to be right, suppressing all counter-arguments, the ideal form of democracy?”