No more peaceful nights with new road project, CAP warns Penangites

comments     Susan Loone     Published     Updated

Penangites who think that they may not be affected by the controversial alignment of the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) project have been cautioned against believing that they would have peaceful nights.

"Before laying down to sleep at night, imagine a quiet neighbourhood where it is safe to walk. Suddenly in a matter of four years, this same place is suffocated by bridges, viaducts and speeding cars that will not stop honking.

"You do not need to be dislocated to be affected," said the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), in its latest report on the road project.

Apart from noise and air pollution, erosion and soil instability, the construction of the 17km highway may also result in the decline of value of certain "aesthetic and distinctive" properties.

For example, owners of properties worth RM500,000 to RM1 million along the affected areas like Island Glades, Jalan Pemancar, Reservoir Cresent, Jalan Air Itam and Taman Jesselton — who have to "turn in their homes" when the time comes — have not been assured of proper compensation for their estates.

For some, these properties are a result of cautious, life-time savings.

CAP's legal advisor, Meenakshi Raman, who is leading a campaign against the RM1.02 billion road project, said today the decline in value of these properties depends on how badly it will distress the surrounding areas.

"For example, the stunning mansions along Gurney Drive may lose their financial worth once the sea front is reclaimed," Meenakshi said.

"Making Georgetown more accessible to more private vehicles will choke the city in no time at all," she warned.

Hot topic

The PORR project, revealed on Saturday by the Malaysian Highway Authority has been a topic of hot debate in recent months, causing public outcry as more residents fear eviction from their homes.

About 176 structures, including private homes, shops, temples, holy shrines, horse stables and graves, are expected to make way for the project, initiated by the federal government.

Residents are still in the dark about toll charges and information on social and environmental impact of the highway that is set to change the face of the island, cutting through residential neighbourhoods and running over steep hills and reclaimed land.

Meenakshi said one of the most horrifying impacts of PORR is that in return for completing the project, the Penang-based Peninsular Metroworks has been given privatisation rights to reclaim the seafront of Gurney Drive — a lovely beachfront frequently patronised by ordinary folks "simply to drink in the psyche of the island".

Acording to a study conducted by CAP recently, the three-year proposed project will cause the entire stretch of Gurney Drive and the beach area behind the Millionaires' Row on Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah to become landlocked.

The new beachfront will begin at Pantai Molek and end behind the Lim Lean Teng mansion on Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Heritage buildings

The CAP report said the heritage buildings along the affected stretch include the19th Century City Hall, Woodville mansion, Leong Yin Kean mansion, Homestead, Lim Cheng Teik mansion, ALW Villa and Aloes, an Anglo-Indian bungalow.

Besides housing and commercial projects, buildings proposed for the area are a five-star resort, a private hospital, a seafront shopping complex and villas, a clubhouse and service apartments, a convention and cultural centre, high and low-rise business centres and a seafront walk, the report added.

"The Gurney Drive that we have known all these years will mutate into a new urban complex, its coastline will be pushed out to sea by 800m on a 100-hectare piece of reclaimed land," Meenakshi said.

"What good is it turning a publicly accessible landmark that is part of the Penang aura into an affluent concrete eyesore?" she queried.

Meenakshi lamented that such a development project was not only "reckless but also heartless".

Gurney drive is also where ordinary folks — from senior citizens to young children — go to enjoy good dinners, take evening walks or just sit quietly and unwind, she said.

Apart from that, the reclamation project will also create adverse impacts on the fishing community in Tanjung Tokong and Penang Port, she added.



Malaysiakini
news and views that matter


Sign In