Anti-PORR people, time to break out the champagne!

To all the Anti-PORR campaigners, it looks like your dream came true because the federal government has decided to shelve this controversial and very much unwanted PORR (Penang Outer Ring Road) project indefinitely.

I read in Malaysiakini here that:

Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister's Department today said that the RM2 billion Penang Monorail and RM1.5 billion Penang Outer Ring Road have been shelved.

MCPX

According to EPU director-general Dr Sulaiman Mahbob, projects that are not people-centred under the original Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) will be put on hold or deferred.

Frankly, I am glad that they shelved the PORR thing. It was a stupid idea in the beginning anyway and let's not forget that the stupid billion ringgit project only serve to line some cronies' pockets.

So, yes, I couldn't agree more that this project is not 'people-centred'. It was definitely more 'crony-centred' right from the beginning. Is the BN government finally seeing sense?

Or did they have this skewed sense that Penangites REALLY wanted the PORR badly so canceling it is a very good way to punish Penangites who dared to mark the cross next to logos that do not look like the scale in the elections.

But then the DPM Najib denies this (according to Malaysiakini):

Met later, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the deferment of the two Penang mega-projects was not a punishment on Penangites who voted in the opposition-led state government.

"(There is) no question of punishing anyone because (other) essential projects continue to be implemented whether the states are run by Barisan Nasional or not," he told a press conference held at the lobby.

As for the cancellation of the Penang Monorail project, I have mixed feelings about it. For one, at least there is not another project in which all our taxpayers' money (that's TWO blardy BILLION!!) were not spent to line another crony's pockets to complete the monorail project.

For another, we are in dire need of a proper public transportation system in Penang because having only RapidPenang is DEFINITELY not enough! I do not understand the part about this project not being people-centred.

So, providing public transportation is not people-centred, then what is? Projects that give more profits to their cronies? What, are they worried that the DAP-PKR state government will scrutinise the project and expose them so it is better to scrape it for now?

Okay, even if they want to shelve the monorail project because it is too expensive, do they have alternative public transportation projects for Penang? By the looks of it, nope.

First they increase the petrol price, now they do away with an alternative public transportation system here. So, are Penangites supposed to walk and cycle everywhere now?

Yep, we have a really great federal government and I absolutely agree that this does not mean they are punishing Penangites for voting them out. After all, public transportation is not people-centred. It is only for show and to line some cronies' pockets.