JULY 7, 2010 which has been declared a public holiday in Penang, marks the second anniversary of George Town being presented the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read here. While the state will mark this listing with a month-long celebration that encompasses over 80 programmes (read here), a heritage activist has stated that the listing is in jeopardy owing to rampant swiftlet farming in the city. Read here

Penang Heritage Trust council member Rebecca Duckett, warned that “the damage urban swiftlet farming in George Town is doing to our  ‘intangible heritage’, by moving people out of buildings in order to open swiftlet farms, and to our ‘tangible heritage’ by destroying the original features of the ‘exceptional range of shophouses and townhouses’ that gave us our WHS listing in the first place is too great to be ignored... By condoning and allowing this (breeders to openly set up farms all over George Town) to happen, the state government and the Penang Island Municipal Council accept that they are responsible for any negative impact as well as health hazard that might arise.” Read here

Meanwhile, Penang Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow stated that the moratorium on swiftlet farming should not be taken as a sign that the state government is allowing the activity in urban areas. He said the moratorium has been extended three times as the state is still waiting for the national guidelines on the industry from the Agriculture Department and the Veterinary Services Department. Read here

Botanic arches a triumph for action and consultation

• Non-governmental organisations laud move: Friends of Penang Botanic Gardens Society president Rashidah Begum said “There is just too much concrete in the garden...It might be a waste of RM150,000 but if we were to look at it in the long run, this is better than the Government receiving criticism from people for a long time.” Read here. Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) member and former consultant engineer Ahmad Chik, explained that the future development in the gardens should be done after consulting non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and interested parties. “The whole episode could have been avoided if the NGOs were consulted from the beginning,” he said. Read here
• Authorities react carefully: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng claimed the Penang government was not given any say in any part of the expansion project, including the construction of the arches. He has instructed state agriculture and agro-based industry, rural development and flood mitigation committee chairman Law Choo Kiang to submit a report on the ministry’s decision to demolish the arches. Read here. On the hand, state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) Anuar Yahya said that the DID would only demolish the structures once it received an official letter authorising it to do so. There is “no immediate urgency” to demolish the arches were no visible cracks on the structure indicating that there was no immediate danger. Read here
• Columnists say consultation is imperative: Meanwhile, blogger Anil Netto and theSun columnist Nadeswaran both were of the opinion that public consultation on critical matters such as the arches is imperative.  Anil commented that the whole saga provides several “salutary lessons for us; in fact, the decision to bring down the arches is highly symbolic...It also illustrates the importance of public consultation when making decisions at the local level so that a broad cross-section of views can be heard and local sensitivities understood.” Read here. In his article “Now, they know people’s views matter” (theSun, 28.06.10), Nadeswaran had aptly summarised the whole situation. “The inevitable questions that have to be asked is: Why weren’t the people consulted even before the first hole was drilled? Why the poll and the consultation process only AFTER people objected?” Read here

Other news 

• Penang expects to add 40,000 new jobs: There will be 20,000 to 40,000 new jobs in Penang following the opportunities created by medical, renewable energy, electronics and tourism industries in the state. Read here
• Penang to launch anti toll-hike campaign: The Penang state government will start a campaign to oppose Putrajaya’s plan to raise the Penang bridge toll rate to RM9.40. Read here
• Rural folk being displaced by high-end developments: A 200-Year-old village in Bayan Lepas, Penang, may become history soon when a high-end development takes place there. Bayan Lepas assemblyman Syed Ameruddin Syed Ahmad said the two different landowners had sold the land to different developers, affecting some 90-odd existing houses built on the plot of land. Read here
• Breakwater for Penang marina: The country's first inner city marina, Tanjung City Marina, in Penang will soon get its long-awaited permanent breakwater. Read here
• Ban on polystyrene: Government hospitals in Penang have been given until August to ban the use of polystyrene containers on their premises. Read here
• ‘Green spine’ for Carnarvon Street: The greening of the city’s heritage enclave will kick off with Carnarvon Street. The project to plant trees along the road dividers will be launched on the state’s anniversary celebration of George Town’s listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 7. Read here
• Gold bazaar in the cards: The Penang Government has plans to turn an open area, currently used as a pedestrian walkway along Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong, into a Gold and Jewellery Bazaar. Read here

For more news on Penang from June 21 to 27, 2010 , please click here

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