I was reminded of the letters written and published on the Porr dating back to 2002 while reading the letter Penang outer ring road project going wrong way .

As it is, the damn thing is done for, sealed, delivered. These privileged folks will live off our blood and sweat via the toll they will collect for at least 30 years, if not more, whether the people use it or not. I am sure there is a clause guaranteeing them a minimum payback, otherwise we the people will have to compensate them with our taxed ringgit.

We can write and complain till our ink runs dry, pound the keyboards till they wear out. We can yell till we lose our voices. What more can we do? Who cares?

The reality is we live in a fragmented society run by cronies with their hands in the cookie jar. Do not believe the Lahs and the Kohs. They couldn't care less, much less do anything to account fo the injustice we see happening everyday. They'll amend the laws if needed. The system is in place to ensure they get rich off our blood and sweat.

The other day, I went hiking up Bukit Hijau, (a small, favourite hiking area in Island Park) for the first time with a Hash House Harrier friend. At the foot of the hill, he pointed out the homes of those who protested the Porr project. Because a condominium construction site is slightly higher than their homes on the edge of the hill, the Porr was too near to their homes for comfort.

It was a just stone's throw away from their rear windows. A few rocks even fell on their roofs during the current construction. The project site was supposedly gifted by the state government to the same developer as a part of the Porr package. The condominiums were built.

Eventually, some of the residents sold their homes, moved on, new owners moved in, unaware of the danger then. The condominiums are completed, some buyers have already moved in. Who cares anymore?

The residents were on first name basis with the chief minister during a couple of meet-the-people sessions to explain the necessity of the Porr project. The CM challenged the people to tell the government how they felt at the next election. I was there at that particular session at the Kompleks Penyayang when the CM uttered those words after an exasperating moment. But at the next election, some of the people forget, while others just don't care.

In the same vein, the Porr will be built. It is not built for our convenience, but rather to enrich the pockets of those with their hands in the big cookie jar. It's the most ideal way to get very rich and stay rich for a long time to come. Almost like a licence to print money.

It's a shame because we are not brave enough to tell them we have had enough. It's a shame because the Lahs and the Kohs can slap us silly, call us stupid, and yet we still go to the voting booth and mark the cross to allow them to do this to us. How stupid can we get?