GEORGE TOWN: Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) Penang's transportation group refutes the state government's claim that the light rail transit (LRT) project is the best form of transport on this small island.
According to state PRM chairman Teh Yee Cheu, a traffic master plan should genuinely serve the people's needs to move about with ease at a reasonable cost.
He said it was not something that could be decided arbitrarily by patting the heads of the people.
"The voice of the citizens must be listened to.
"Transportation plans must serve the needs of the people and not be for vanity projects," he said today.
Penang had proposed an LRT as part of its multi-billion ringgit Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project.
The state is looking to implement the PTMP, comprising an LRT, three paired roads and an undersea tunnel to solve traffic problems.
During a recent visit to the state, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the federal government had agreed to provide additional funds to the Penang government to expedite the development of the LRT project in the state.
The prime minister acknowledged that traffic congestion had been a longstanding issue in Penang and that the state needed an LRT system.
Anwar had said he would discuss with the Penang government soon to find a solution and formulate how to fund the project.
Elaborating, Teh said the people must get clear answers to six points related to the proposed LRT project before knowing its feasibility.
The six are:
* Alignment of the LRT line;
* Utilisation rate;
* The cost of riding the LRT;
* Maintenance costs;
* First-mile, last-mile connectivity issues due to an extremely wrong design; and
* The "single-line design" of the LRT, which is supposed to serve the general population, is like a single-line cable car for tourists to reach a hill station.
On the alignment of the LRT line, Teh said the people needed to know if their homes or properties would be affected in any way, particularly would any houses be torn down; would the noise of the passing trains affect the peace at their homes, open spaces and others?
"Why does the line to Bayan Lepas bypass the high worker-density areas such as Intel, Keysight, and Motorolla?
"These heavy investors need mass public transportation services to reduce the travelling stress on their workers and improve work productivity. Leaving these places out is very unfair to such investors.
"Neither does the line pass through densely populated areas such as Relau," he pointed out.
Teh said the state government must also give the people well-founded data, in straightforward form, to let the general public understand the government budget and how to obtain the minimum passenger volume to achieve the minimum return on investment.
He said, according to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consultant, high-density apartments would be built close to the stations to provide ridership for the LRT.
"Thus, the ridership is mere speculation and not guaranteed," he stressed.
On the cost of riding the LRT, Teh said this would be a topic of interest for everyone.
"What is the estimated minimum and maximum fare for riding the LRT?
"Will it be cheaper for the B40 to ride the LRT than to use motorcycles and small cars?" he asked.
He said, with regards to maintenance costs, the state government should give clear answers, such as the annual maintenance fee, where the budget comes from, would the government raise or impose new taxes on the people, such as house registration tax, land tax, among others, and thus pass the LRT maintenance bill to the people.
On the first-mile and last-mile connectivity issues, Teh said if people have to depend on Grab for first-mile and last-mile travel between their homes, the stations and their destinations, what would be the total cost of riding the LRT?
He also asked if it would be cost-effective to do so.
"Depending on Grab or other public transport for first-mile, last-mile connection will be time-consuming, labour-intensive and a waste of money with no social and economic benefits.
"Uninformed people (unfortunately the majority) will always be mesmerised by and 'greedy' for new technological gadgets. Once they discover its negative effects and debts, they will regret it. Still, irreparable damage would have been done," he said.
He also noted that the "single-line design" of the LRT, which is supposed to serve the general population, was like a single-line cable car for tourists to reach a hill station.
The public, he said, must take note of this and not think that the LRT would solve Penang's traffic jam problems.
PRM, Teh said, hoped that the state government would make democratic decisions and implement them scientifically.
"The people should not easily be taken in by beautiful illustrations and promises of the leaders and not rush to clamour for 'development' that does not serve its purpose but become expensive white elephants that they will have to pay for in the end," he said.