After 100 days,Guan Eng moves into official residence. Is he here to stay ?

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has moved into Rumah Tetamu, the Chief Minister’s official residence, in Macalister Road.

Lim, who moved in at 8am yesterday, said he recently found out that the RM300,000 estimate given by the state government and Public Works Department to repair the mansion had been “grossly overstated”.

He has also been told the roof was not leaking.

“It was only water dripping from the air-conditioning vents. I don’t understand how they could include repairing a leaking roof in their evaluation when the roof is not leaking.

“I think we only need to do some minor touch-up like a bit of repainting,” Lim told newsmen when opening the Silver Jubilee Rehabilitation Centre for Stroke Patients at the Silver Jubilee Home here yesterday.

He said the state government would investigate how the RM300,000 estimate had come about.

Courtesy: The Star

Less Traffiic on Penang Brige

The daily commute along the Penang Bridge has become less stressful for project manager Jessie Teo.

Ever since fuel prices went up early this month, she noticed there were fewer cars on the bridge.

“Though there are traffic jams at peak hours, traffic flow is smoother,” said Teo who drives to the factory on the mainland where she works.

She added that many of her colleagues had started carpooling to cut transport cost.

Supervisor Omar Awang, 47, has switched to riding a motorcycle.

“Tak boleh tahan (Cannot take it). How can we drive everywhere with the recent hike in fuel prices?

“The roads are less congested these days and I’m not surprised that many have opted to ride a motorcycle,” he said.

A spokesman for Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB) said some 67,000 vehicles traversed the bridge a day.

“But traffic reduced by 7% a few days after the fuel price increase. The traffic volume at peak times such as Monday morning and Friday evening has also gone down,” she said

Courtesy: Thed Star

Penang Public Transport Woes

Penang folk are frustrated that promises to regulate bus operators have yet to be fulfilled.

THE roads are choked, motorists just do not bother to follow the most basic of traffic rules and heaven help those who have to rely on public transport in Penang.

This is not an exaggeration of the situation, although the public bus service has somewhat improved following the entry of RapidPenang since late last year.

The problem of a pathetic public transportation system on the island once regarded as the Pearl of the Orient has been widely talked about, debated and dissected. However, nothing much has been done in solving the problem.

The boneshakers that pass off as public buses are still on the road and taxi drivers have stubbornly refused to meter their fares despite the warnings which date back to the 1990s by licensing authorities.

The thing that frustrates people the most about the mess are all the empty promises of better things ahead.
Penangites have been promised that public bus operators would be regulated and the bus leasing system would be stopped, but this has yet to happen.

If anything, the bus operators have become more brazen in breaking every rule in the book since RapidPenang came into the picture.

As for taxis, locals can hardly afford to hop into one these days, even if it is to travel short distances due to the exorbitant fares the drivers demand.

Most taxi drivers in Penang have the mentality that they are only providing their services to foreigners flush with pounds, euros and US dollars.

Ask any taxi driver about the high fares and one is sure to get the answer: "We are here for the tourists. It doesn't matter if locals cannot afford us."

It is due to such narrow-mindedness that the taxi drivers are willing to resort to violence to get the tourists.

This was demonstrated recently when a group of 20 limousine drivers surrounded two vans carrying Indonesian tourists who had just arrived on a package holiday here.

The limousine drivers were angry that the hotels the tourists were lodging at had arranged for vans to pick the visitors up at the airport.

The limousine drivers subsequently beat the van drivers up before bundling the tourists into their limousines to be driven to the hotels.

It doesn't take much to figure out that public transport providers in Penang have become kings on the road, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of enforcement authorities.

The people here are still waiting to see if promises will finally turn into a reality.

However, everyone is keeping their fingers crossed now that there is greater urgency to address the problem following the rise in fuel prices.

Courtesy: NST

Penang land woes

The new land reform policy put into effect by the Penang state government four days ago has hit a snag – incomplete and incorrect application forms are being distributed online and at the state’s five district offices.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said this yesterday after conducting a spot check at the North-East District Land Office in Komtar.

“We decided to conduct a spot check after receiving complaints from several applicants.

“Unfortunately, the complaints proved to be true and we have found that the North-East District Land Office has been distributing incorrect and incomplete forms along with forms that request unneeded information,” he told a press conference after the spot check.

Lim said more than 100 applicants from the North-East District Office were affected and believed that the same situation was happening at the four other land offices.

The oversight involved commercial applicants who wanted to extend their leasehold to 99 years and residential ones who applied to convert their land status from leasehold to freehold, he said.

“I have also checked the downloadable version of the forms and found that one form is incomplete,” Lim said.

“The online version of the forms found at ptg.penang.gov.my will be corrected and made more easily accessible on the website,” he said, adding that correct and complete forms will be made available today on the website and at all district offices.

Lim advised all the applicants to compare their forms with the online version and reminded that location plans required for applications could only be obtained from land offices in the vicinity of the respective properties.

Applicants can also contact the Land and Mines Department at 04-261 5459 for assistance.

Courtesy: The Star

Second Bridge: UEM still the contractor

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop today said that UEM Builders Bhd remains the contractor of the second Penang bridge project but declined to comment on a report that the company will not manage and collect tolls.

Online news provider The Malaysian Insider recently reported that the government was overhauling the project by breaking up the key elements, namely, the construction and concession to collect tolls.

Citing unnamed government officials, the report said the toll concession portion would be decided through an open tender, and the winning party would have to share revenue with the government.

It also said the move could save the government up to RM18 billion over 45 years, and lead to greater flexibility in levying toll charges.

Speaking to newsmen after delivering his keynote address at the Malaysia Islamic Capital Market Conference 2008 here, Nor Mohamed said he would discuss the issue with the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister's Department.

"I will discuss with the EPU and will issue a proper statement soon, but on the issue of the bridge's contractor, at this point in time certainly UEM is on as a contractor," he said.

He stressed that construction of the Second Bridge, which connects Penang to the mainland, was still on.

"I don't think the project will be cancelled and UEM is still the contractor," he said.

Earlier this month, UEM Builders said the government had approved an increase in the construction cost for the bridge above the original cost of RM4.3 billion due to rising prices of oil and building materials.

It also said preliminary work on the construction of the bridge had started and the project was on track to be completed as planned by 2011.

The 24km bridge project is being undertaken by UEM Builders, in a joint venture with China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd.