Wong Chun Wai's latest column on Make the pearl of the orient shine again ( The Star , Nov 14) highlights several key realities of the state of development (or the lack of it) in Penang.

He lamented that the state is losing its competitive position and attraction in various sectors, chiefly tourism.

There are also serious concerns that the state leadership is playing catch up, rather than being a trendsetter. It is pertinent for our leaders to be visionary so that policy implementations are made in accordance and in anticipation of the needs of the people.

Good governance is not about meeting yesterday's needs but the needs of the future.

For example, traffic congestion is becoming more acute in the inner city. The area surrounding Komtar turns into an arena of chaos and frustration during holidays or festive seasons. It is not unusual to find buses, taxis, kereta sapu (illegal taxis) and passenger cars crawling bumper to bumper some using the area as a parking bay, others hoping to attract customers or picking up their loved ones.

Simply, the Komtar bus terminal can no longer cope with the growing volume of inbound, outbound and internal traffic.

This problem is exacerbated or magnified by two prime factors.

First, it is apparent that the public transport system in the state is suffering from a serious drop in service quality and consistency. This writer, having just returned from overseas, recently had to depend on public transport to move around in the island.

The condition of some buses is deplorable and appalling. But the attitude of the operators is worse. Most of them are too profit-minded to pay any attention to customer service. Any tourist on his/her maiden trip to Penang would be less impressed once they have used the public transport.

Second, I am certain that the state leadership is well aware of this problem, but it is unwilling to exercise its political power to act on it due to fear of political backlash.

The 'fear' is often associated with the loss of votes and political support. This is nothing new. In many instances councillors are forced to stop from acting due to interferences from politicians, who claimed that they are at the mercy of their electorate.

The next dilemma for Penang is cleanliness. The majority of drains around the inner city of Georgetown, especially those near to food centres, wet markets or eateries, are often clogged with rubbish.

Unfortunately, the enforcement officers are faced with a similar challenge here interference from politicians who fear that any action taken against these polluters will cause them their political support.

Hence, when there is a 30-minute heavy downpour in Penang, we can find instant canals all over the city because the drainage system is not functional.

A good public transport system and cleanliness are the fundamental requirements to support business and tourism activities.

In his column, Wong attributed the responsibility and blame solely on the state leadership. He noted that "there appears to be a state of denial and indifference on the part of the state leadership" on these issues - especially its economic performance.

On cleanliness, again he suggested "the state must be more committed to keeping Penang clean".

I do not refute his general observations on the situation in Penang. As a matter of fact, I echo his sentiment that serious attention must be accorded to address and resolve these problems in order to bring back the shine to Penang.

However, I do find his analysis a little simplistic. The commitment and responsibility to reinvigorate Penang's economy and to keep the state clean rest on the shoulders of all Penangites, regardless of status, affiliation, gender, race or creed.

It is granted that the state leadership needs to show more vigour, vision and political will.

Nonetheless, if Penangites were to continue to display an indifferent and selfish attitude, the state government will continue to find itself in a checkmated position to act on those unscrupulous actors would translate into losing political support and not to act means being in a state of denial.

Politicians, in the state, in the past were more interested in squabbling than serving the interests of the people. Hence, many good minutes, energy and effort were lost in the process of mindless politicking and political maneuvering to seek control of state leadership.

Politicians must remember that no public interest should be sacrificed in order to fulfill their own political ambition. Hence, less politicking would definitely do more good than harm.

At the end of the day, we are collectively responsible for defining and protecting the welfare of our state.

To make the 'pearl of the orient' shine again, it takes more than just a responsive, visionary and result-oriented government, but also the support and participation of the people with the right mentality and attitude.

Penangites should start to adopt a first-world mentality if they want to go far.