To build or not to build?

Much has been said about the multi-billion ringgit tunnel/highway projects announced several days ago by the Penang government. I was at a committee meeting of The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society on Sunday and so, had to miss out on attending a dialogue session between the government and the Penang Forum members about the state's master plan on solving Penang's traffic woes.

I read somewhere that it was a very frank exchange of views for both sides. The Penang Forum and the public presented their views and the chief minister, Lim Guan Eng, also clarified matters on behalf of the government.

Whether this dialogue session has actually resolved any issue remains to be seen but at least, the willingness of the state government to engage with the stakeholders of Penang has set it apart from the style of the old state government, the one prior to March 2008.

Personally, I would like to wish for a proprietary rail link connecting both sides of the Channel. The link could be built to run beside the present Penang bridge with the terminal stations at both ends providing human traffic dispersal through an efficient public transport system to other strategic points on the island and the mainland. Wishful thinking? Maybe. I don't expect it to be considered or fulfilled any time soon.

Anyhow, back to the dialogue session, I really couldn't remember who told me this, but I did hear that the Perkasa simpletons were conspicuously absent from disrupting the event. I suppose this dialogue session would be beyond their simple comprehension. Violent morons that they are, they wouldn't have understood what went on.