Penang saw the good, bad and ugly

GEORGE TOWN (Jan 2, 2014): This past year was one that saw Penang hitting the headlines in more ways than one. From politics to social issues, from the environment to development, 2013 had plenty of surprises, tales and amazing affairs all combined to make it one heck of a year for the Pearl of the Orient.
Triumph
A year-end review in an election year will be incomplete if the political action is left out. Penang felt the heat as Barisan Nasional (BN) clashed with a fledging, albeit fast-maturing, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for control of the state.
Sore from losing control of one of the most industrialised states in the federation, BN made many promises during its election campaign for the 13th general election, from more affordable housing to a possible return of free port status to Penang, as it tried to regain control of the state.
Organisations aligned to BN, the most prominent being the 1Malaysia Penang Welfare Club, also made their presence felt as free food, drinks and entertainment were provided almost every night at various locations.
The triumvirate of DAP, PAS and PKR were no slouches despite the huge pressure on them and the last-minute bickering for seats which saw a three-cornered fight emerging for a constituency.
The PR alliance drew the crowds with its nightly ceramah where thousands packed fields to hear fiery speeches by its national and local leaders.
When the final votes were tallied, PR again emerged the victor by winning 30 of the 40 state seats, thereby strengthening its hold on the state legislature and showing the nascent cooperation was solidifying into an entity here to stay for the long term.
Tragedy
In June, two infrastructure disasters that struck a week from each other claimed the lives of two men. On June 6, a 30m section of a ramp leading to the then still under construction Second Penang Bridge collapsed burying former policeman Tajuddin Zainal Abidin, who was on his way home to Batu Maung, under the rubble.

On June 13, hawker Lim Chin Aik died after the car he was driving was struck by a 30m tall lighting arrestor which broke off from Menara Umno during a freak storm.
The incidents made newspaper front pages as the state scrambled to ensure buildings in Penang were safe while people tried to make sense of the unprecedented infrastructure failings in the new millennium.
The last time a structure failed was in July 1988 when a section of the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 32 people and injuring 1,634 others.

Traffic
Everyone agrees traffic congestion in Penang is bad. What is not agreed is how to go about solving the problem. For some, improving public transport is the way forward but for the state government, a RM6.3 billion package of three road projects and an undersea tunnel is seen as the answer.
The projects are a 4.2km bypass from Gurney Drive to Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, a 4.6km bypass between Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu and Bandar Baru Air Itam, a 12km paired road from Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang and the 6.5km Penang-Butterworth sea tunnel.
Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture between Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd and China Railway Construction Co Ltd, together with Beijing Urban Construction Group, Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd and Juteras Sdn Bhd, was awarded the projects in October.
Controversy
Penang is well known for sun, sand and surf but despite these happy connotations, the state was not spared religious bigotry as a purported Bible burning festival was to be held at Butterworth as a result of the "Allah" controversy.
Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali had called for Bibles to be burnt and leaflets were found promoting the event which was to be held on a Sunday in January, a day Christians consider holy.
Thankfully the "festival" turned out to be a damp squib as no one turned up to burn the holy book.

Housing
There is no doubt that properties in Penang are expensive. The entry cost is high even for the supposedly middle-class. High property prices have been blamed, rightly or wrongly, on speculation activities.
In order to ward off a property bubble and to cool the market, the state introduced new property rules in December.
One of the rules allows property costing RM400,000 and below to only be sold after the fifth year of purchase while extending the moratorium on sale of low-cost and low-medium cost housing to 10 years from five previously.
The other rules include a 3% levy on purchases by foreigners and a 2% levy on the seller of all properties within three years of the date of sale and purchase.
These new measures have not gone down well with some quarters, which questioned the validity and legality of the rules which are alleged to contravene the National Land Code. Others however have lauded the administration for being far-sighted in addressing the housing issue.
Despite the brickbats, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has gone on record to say the state is willing to face any legal challenge over the move.
It remains to be seen if anyone is willing to be the first to test the rules' legitimacy. These are just some of the events which made 2013 an eventful one.