The
proposed third link in Penang must have surprised many people, not
only because it is a mega project of BN's proportions and that it is
proposed by DAP Chief Minister, YAB Lim Guan Eng, who is known to
have criticised BN for such projects before, but also because it is just
months before the 13th general election.
Some
people thought success must have gone into Lim Guan Eng's head, to
have such grandiose ideas. Political opponents have been trying to
find faults, like why decisions were allegedly made in Taiwan; that
the winning companies were Rm2 companies; that there must have been
bribes in the awarding process; and so on.
For
those who know, they could empathise with LGE for having to contend
with a federal government out to sabotage his state plans at every
turn, so that the present leaders will be discredited and hopefully,
they will lose the state in the coming GE. We do not need to have
privileged information to assume that LGE would have done a much
better job had he been given a freer hand in administration.
Before
I read Penang
chief minister's open letter to CAP ,
I was among those with little or no knowledge about the details of
the proposed tunnel project. To most people, to have an under-seabed
tunnel project (and especially one proposed by a DAP Chief Minister)
is unthinkable, given the objections when Penang bridge was first
mooted. If it is so simple, why didn't our Causeway between Johor
Bahru and Singapore be replaced by a tunnel instead of a crooked
bridge?
I am glad I read
the full letter in Malaysiakini because I find it very informative
for someone ignorant like myself, and the rationale and reasons for
the proposed project, excellent in countering Consumers Association
of Penang's criticisms.
At
a glance, the following is what I have gleaned from the open letter:
Traffic
decongestion projects of three highways and one under-seabed tunnel:
a
4.2km Pesiaran Gurney-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass;
a
4.6km Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway-Bandar Baru Air Itam bypass;
a
four-lane 12km road linking Tanjung Bungah with Teluk Bahang; and
a
7km undersea tunnel from Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam in Butterworth.
The
30 year toll concession period was given only for the tunnel and not
for the other three highway projects which will be toll free.
...
by not charging toll, ... the federal government will have legal
grounds to stop the tunnel project by claiming that we are
deliberately sabotaging the toll collection for the second bridge.
That
is the reason why the state government has fixed the toll rate for
the tunnel at the same rate as the second bridge.
The
state government cannot build a bridge across the mainland because
federal government approval is required.
However,
no such approval is necessary for an under seabed tunnel.
...
there is a question of equity as it is only fair that the residents
of Seberang Perai Utara are not denied a third link, when residents
in Seberang Perai Tengah and Seberang Perai Selatan were given the
two bridges.
For
the full open letter:
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