Maverick DAP Tanjung Bungah assemblyperson Teh Yee Cheu has advised the Penang government not to be influenced by “capitalists” when making decisions on the state’s development.

“The capitalists’ advice usually does not benefit the people in the long run,” he said at a press conference in George Town today to voice his concerns over the Transport Master Plan (TMP).

The RM27 billion TMP involves plans to reclaim close to 4,000 acres of land on the southern post of the island.

The project is expected to affect 900 fisher folks in 10 villages. Also in the pipeline are plans to develop a Light Railway Transit system from Bayan Lepas.

“How many percentage of the reclaimed land would benefit the people and how many percentage of the land would benefit developers?” Teh asked.

“Underground subways are preferable to LRT as the land on top of it can still be used by the public, unlike LRT which would involve land acquisition,” Teh added.

Teh found himself in hot water last November when he supported an Umno motion to halt reclamation projects at the state legislative assembly.

He withdrew his support after 30 minutes and apologised for his “mistake”. Teh then resigned from his post as state DAP organising secretary.

Undeterred by this setback, Teh went on to oppose the TMP’s model of financing which involves reclamation, which he believes is detrimental to the environment and people’s livelihood.

Although the state government has organised several public consultation sessions, Teh queried if the public has sufficiently been consulted over the plan by SRS Consortium – the TMP project delivery partner.

Education very important

He also asked if some plots of reserved government land on Gurney Drive can be used for schools to build their branches if their land is being acquired under the TMP.

He was referring specifically to the 197-year-old Penang Chinese Girls High School which may lose one-third of its school field when the roads on Jalan Gotlieb are widened as part of the TMP.

But today, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow has denied that any part of the school’s land would be acquired for the TMP.

Nevertheless, Teh reminded the state government that education is very important to the people, adding that some schools in Penang are considered “heritage”, and should not be asked to give up their land to the state for its traffic management plan.

“During BN’s rule (prior to 2008), the DAP has also opposed the Penang Outer Ring Road project, so why doesn’t the party object to the reclamation works involving the TMP now?’ Teh asked.