Chow: BN's '51 broken promises' claim unfair

Penang BN’s recent allegations that the state government under Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has failed to fulfill 51 promises to the people since 2008, is “unfair”, said state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow.

Chow said, of the 51 “broken” promises which were pointed out by BN Pulau Betong assemblyperson Muhamad Farid Saad, 10 involved traffic and transport woes, which should be addressed under his (Chow’s) portfolio - local government, public transportation and flood mitigation.

He reminded Putrajaya that although the implementation of transport systems come under the purview of the federal government, the Penang administration was making efforts to address the issue.

"BN's allegations against the state government are unfair because it is public knowledge that the state government is active in planning to implement the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP),” Chow said.

"The state government is still waiting for approval from the federal government in Putrajaya to build the light transit rail project and carry out the Penang South Reclamation project,” he added.

The Penang South Reclamation project, which will take place off the coast of Bayan Lepas, involves the PTMP, and the creation of three artificial islands for residential and commercial purposes.

PTMP, which costs about RM27 billion, is to be delivered by SRS Consortium, the state’s project delivery partner, and is slated for completion by 2030, where the whole island will be connected by LRT systems, buses and highways.Chow reminded Penang BN leaders that the federal government should implement public transport issues and projects, promised before the 2013 general election.

“Actually BN should carry out their duty to build the LRT in Penang but they have not fulfilled their promises,” said the DAP state chief.

“As the Penang government is sensitive to people’s traffic and transport woes, we know that a more efficient highway system is needed, so we began the initiative to implement the PTMP,” added Chow, who is also DAP Padang Kota assemblyman.

“We hope that BN does not sabotage our sincere efforts to implement these projects although they do not wish to help.”- Mkini