GEORGE TOWN – Penang is expected to make an announcement next week on the status of the island’s Penang Island City Council (MBPP) president, who is also the mayor.
It is learnt that the state is currently deliberating on the matter and is expected to reach a decision on it by next week.
The term of the current mayor and MBPP president Datuk Yew Tung Seang is scheduled to end by May this year.
Yew, 60, is regarded as one of MBPP’s own, having risen through the ranks as the building department director to assume the top council position since 2018.
He is regarded as an affable personality and instrumental in the installation of biking pathways and overseeing the completion of Malaysia’s highest elevated highway – the 5.5km Bukit Kukus paired road that links Paya Terubong with Bukit Jambul and Relau.
Under the local government guidelines, his term can be extended although he is approaching retirement age.
However, there are complaints from certain segments of ratepayers, namely those in civil society, who are horrified over how the council has addressed growing concerns about the approval of projects near the Unesco World Heritage Site of George Town.
Yew’s administration has been accused of neglect of conservation and preservation policies after news emerged of a spate of newly approved projects and demolitions of old structures.
Although not within the highly restrictive core or buffer zones of the heritage site of over 200ha, the controversial actions have been within the tertiary area – which activists incidentally say needs more protection than ever.
Penang Heritage Trust vice-chairman Khoo Salma Nasution said that it is pointless to have a heritage site when skyscrapers adorn the surrounding areas of the core and buffer zones.
“It ruins the visibility and intricate value of the heritage buildings,” she said.
This is where the role of MBPP is crucial – it needs to make up its mind on whether it will stay true with the conservationists, or give in to parties pushing for more development at the expense of Penang’s colourful historical past, said another activist Mark Lay.
Then, there is the controversy over the draft of the Penang Island Local Plan, which is apparently riddled with many defects.
Room for dialogue
While side-stepping questions over his future, Yew in the recent full council meeting responded to whether MBPP is willing to initiate a dialogue with civil society.
“I have an open-door policy and anybody is welcome to come and see me or my staffers,” he said.
He added that the council has a heritage conservation unit that is keen to engage with various stakeholders here.
He also gave room for a dialogue to ensue between the council’s detractors and himself.
Lay, who co-founded the George Town Heritage Action group, shared plans of a proposed 38-storey condominium project.
It is to take place at Gat Lebuh Noordin, less than 200m away from the Unesco heritage site’s western boundary.
Planning permissions were submitted to MBPP for approval.
We need better leadership now over heritage issues, or we will compromise the past and present for an uncertain future,” he said.
A senior city councillor said that Yew cannot be faulted for everything that goes wrong in the local government’s administration.
Many policies are approved and driven by the state rather than the council, although MBPP has to oversee an annual budget of between RM400 million and RM500 million.
“Yew is often tied up. We are trying our best to serve the ratepayers,” the councillor said.
The councillor however noted room for improvement, especially in areas of communication between the public and MBPP.
“We have a few months more to go, so we should not be preoccupied with who our mayor is. Let us focus on doing our jobs better,” he said.
The state may opt to appoint an outsider to the post, but the likelihood is that it will be someone from within.
The current MBPP secretary Datuk A. Rajendran, who helped devise the one-way road system here, is seen as a contender. – The Vibes, March 31, 2023
