"PRESERVING an engineering classic", published in theSun (July 23, 2009), has created a snowball effect. It carried an opinion that the overhaul of the old Penang Hill Railway line was unnecessary and that public money must be used wisely in the refurbishment. Read here.

The Tourism Ministry responded that the proposed upgrade to the line system is in compliance with the latest international safety code. It also insisted that they have taken into consideration “views of all parties concerned such as the Penang Hill residents and NGOs before deciding on the proposed system…". Read here

Lastly, Ric Francis, the Australian tramway engineer who had been quoted as an authority in the articles above had his say. He reaffirmed his initial proposal to the ministry by stating that “The Penang Hill Railway is unique in the world and it has problems to overcome that are not in any other hill railway. Most are straight up and down. Not so this one. To claim it is simple to divert the bottom line to the top line. Now let’s get real... To shift the bottom line left 15 feet and raise it 5 feet requires a lot of engineering skills”.  Read here.

For more OPINION pieces, read here

On the Kampung Buah Pala front, the much anticipated Aug 2 deadline for villagers to move out did not result in any particular incident.[UPDATE: A possibly violent showdown over the Kampung Buah Pala issue was averted at the last-minute Tuesday (04.08.09) morning when the developer agreed to meet the villagers and the state government for further discussions. Read here]

While the Penang Government Officers Cooperative, the sole owner of the land, remains firm in its decision to demolish the houses (read here), the villagers have taken a week off from their work to keep a watch. Read here

On the eve of a scheduled demolition of the village, the villagers hosted a cultural festival featuring a bullfight. A few thousand people gathered in the village to perform prayers, traditional ceremonies, music and dance, and watch contests like greased pole-climbing. Read here. The week preceding the deadline also saw the villagers agreeing a state government proposal to share the said 2.6ha plot with the developer in which CM Lim Guan Eng had stated that state government would revoke the development order for the project if Nusmetro Ventures (the developer) went ahead with its threat to bulldoze the village. Read here

For more news on SOCIAL ISSUES, please read here 

Other news

• Permatang Pasir rep dies, another by-election to be held: Penang state assemblyman for Permatang Pasir Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman died at the National Heart Centre (IJN) on Friday (July 31, 2009). Read here and here for the expected announcement of polling date of the by-election.
• 100 ex-Malaysians march to press for British citizenship: More than 100 Malaysian British Overseas Citizens (BOCs) staged a peace march on July 27 as part of their campaign to lobby for British citizenship. Read here and here. And their blog here
• Penang airport flying high: It has won two international awards this year and is due for an upgrade. Read here
• Jawi assemblyman cleared: Jawi assemblyman Tan Beng Huat has been cleared of the abuse of power allegations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Read here
• investPenang GM tipped to head PDC Properties: investPenang general manager Wan Zailena Noordin is tipped to replace Osman Kallahan as the next head of PDC Properties Sdn Bhd, the property development arm of Penang Development Corp (PDC). Read here
• Kingston closing memory module plant in Penang: US-based Kingston Technology is closing its memory module manufacturing facility in Bayan Lepas, Penang. Read here
  

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