Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has defended the need for the state to implement the ambitious RM27 billion Transport Master Plan , which proposes to improve the connectivity within the island, and with the mainland via five transport systems.

Lim pointed to the massive traffic congestion during the holiday season and huge traffic jam yesterday caused by a minor accident on the First Penang bridge.

Lim said the incident, where a car overturned on the bridge, will be a regular feature as Penang emerges as a regional and national tourist, services and manufacturing hub.

“If we do not want traffic congestion to be a regular feature for our children, there is a need for a paradigm shift towards a concept of ‘moving people instead of moving vehicles’ that entails huge investment in public transportation and infrastructure,” Lim said in a statement.

Lim said Putrajaya realises how serious traffic congestion is in Penang, and has dangled a Light Railway Transit system only on the island, with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak himself promising three times to build one.

“However, just like his previous empty promises to abolish the Sedition Act, the prime minister has not kept his word to Penang,” Lim said.

“We will not allow the federal government to choke Penang to death with traffic congestion,” he quipped.

Last month, the Penang government conducted a public consultation on the Transport Master Plan, where plans for reclamation in the sourthern post of the island - in Batu Maung and Bayan Lepas areas - were revealed.

Following intense criticisms over the state’s reclamation plans, which threaten to affect the livelihood of fisherfolk along the coastal line, Lim promised to declassify all concession agreements inked during BN’s rule (3,241 acres) and during the tenure of Pakatan Rakyat, now Pakatan Harapan (60 acres).

Lim said the Penang Pakatan Harapan government has no choice but to take the initiative to do a comprehensive public transport system on its own that involves both the mainland and the island, and not just the island.

He added that the Penang government understood concerns amongst some segments of the public about the scale and scope of the RM27 billion Transport Master Plan (TMP).

He said these concerns stem from “justifiable fears” that the whole exercise will follow the BN approach of “enriching BN cronies” with hugely inflated costs that finally does not benefit public interest.

Open competitive tenders

“The Penang government can allay such concerns about the TMP by adopting the CAT governance of competency, accountability and transparency of conducting open competitive tenders, full disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act; and public hearings to gain public feedback before the state government decides whether or not to proceed,” Lim said.

“The people of Penang will make the final decision and if they choose to reject the RM27 billion TMP, in accordance with democratic principles the state government will humbly accept their decision.

“The state government has come out with the TMP and we are willing to ‘fail trying’ than fail to try,” he added.

Lim also addressed questions raised as to why the state would adopt a 5-in-1 solution involving buses, taxies, LRT/monorail, water taxies/ferries and cable car.

He said to improve connectivity, Penang must try to have as many links as possible between both the mainland and the island to reduce traffic bottlenecks.

He added that the ferry service has “failed abysmally” to perform its public duty under the federal government.

“The traffic accident on the First Penang Bridge yesterday only underlines the importance of the proposed under seabed tunnel and the cable car,” Lim said.

“There is no doubt that an efficient public transport benefits the poor more than the rich.

“This is the rationale why the public in Penang has so far being overwhelmingly positive, even though the RM27 billion cost will have to be financed through land reclamation,” he added.