The Penang Forum comprises about 150 representatives of Penang NGOs and community groups, as well as individuals who came together in April 2008 to encourage a constructive partnership between the Penang state government and the Penang people.

The outcome of the forum was the establishment of eleven working groups covering the issues of local government, labour, women, persons with disabilities, youth and students, goodwill initiatives, health, environment, the arts, heritage and transport.

Each working group has written a report containing a number of recommendations, and these reports have been compiled into the Penang Forum Report.

Representatives of the Penang Forum have had two recent meetings with Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, together with some members of his state exco.

At the first meeting we presented our report, and expressed our hope that the state government would seriously consider and adopt the report. We also stated our wider hope that this state government would open up the processes of government, by proactively taking steps to be more inclusive, participatory and consultative.

We welcomed the fact that each state exco member was given a copy of our report and asked to respond to our recommendations, which they did in the second meeting. This was a positive indication of the government’s readiness to listen and respond.

We had a good exchange of views and we look forward to many more such consultations and actions to help move forward the agenda of openness, transparency and inclusivity.

Corruption, cronyism and incompetence continue to plague the country and drain its resources. The Penang state government’s efforts to reduce these are commendable.

We recognise that things have become so ingrained in the practices of government that it will need a radical overhaul of administration and governance before anything fundamental changes. Having an open and transparent system of awarding contracts is one such step.

We support the state government in its efforts to get rid of, for example, illegal structures, hawkers and businesses at the Batu Ferringhi beach in an attempt to build a cleaner and more attractive Penang.

We continue to encourage the state government to be resilient and consistent in their approach on hill slope development, illegal buildings, illegal parking, the problem with swiftlet nests and so on.

Positive initiatives from our state government could also include for example, organising a public consultation on the Penang Hill cable car project, and the recently proposed Tiger Park. It should also ensure a full and open public consultation process for the Local Plan which will be displayed soon.

It is our fervent hope that the Penang state government will work together with civil society to ensure a CAT (competent, accountable and transparent) policy for Penang. But we know that the state government cannot do it alone; it is obvious they need help and support to make this happen.

And so we call upon all Penangites to support positive initiatives and come up with constructive actions for the betterment of Penang and its people. We have a shared responsibility to make that change we voted for a reality.