‘Bigger picture’ involving LRT plan looks bad, CAP tells Penang CM

Consumers’ Association of Penang acting president Mohideen Abdul Kader says the state government must take heed of the warning that the LRT system might not have enough people using it when it opens. (Facebook pic)

GEORGE TOWN: A consumers group today asked what Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow meant when he said “certain people” were peddling wrong information about Penang’s proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) system when in reality the information was given by experts in the field.

Consumers’ Association of Penang acting president Mohideen Abdul Kader said experts had said the proposed LRT was too big for a small Penang population and that smaller systems would do better.

He said systems such as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the newer Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) system were viable alternatives.

Last week, Chow had said certain groups were “manipulating information on the projects” for their own benefit, adding that such “stalking and digital harassment” should be stopped right away and that detractors should look at the “bigger picture”.

Mohideen, in a statement today, said: “Even after various efforts have been made to educate them on the best way, where both the government and the public can be satisfied with the outcome, they are hell-bent on the LRT, rather than an ART or BRT system.

“And we ask, what Chow means by looking at the bigger picture? The bigger picture is that Penang’s natural resources are being destroyed and fishermen are losing their livelihood due to a total loss of fishing grounds due to reclamation projects.

“Hills are also being massacred for development of highways and other projects, and the public is being confronted with floods and landslides.”

The Bayan Lepas LRT line, to be built from George Town to Bayan Lepas, will be constructed in two phases. The first is 23.5km long with 20 stations and the second phase is 6.4km long with seven stations. It will take about six years to complete once started.

The project will be financed through the sale of three reclaimed islands to be created by the Penang government through its project delivery partner, SRS Consortium.

Mohideen also reminded Chow about the findings by the Penang Forum that the new LRT system might not have enough people using it when it opens and that it would be a loss-making venture.

He said this was because the 42 million per year ridership, or 115,000 passengers per day in 2023, was unrealistic, rivalling even Kuala Lumpur’s transit lines or even those of Singapore and London.

The population of Penang Island is about 700,000 while that of the whole state was 1.74 million in 2017.

Mohideen said Kuala Lumpur’s rail lines, LRT, MRT and the monorail had often fallen short of the projected ridership and Penang should learn from this.

“Clearly, the state is trying to manipulate information here. CAP urges the CM to come clean and explain to the public the manipulation of the ridership figures for the LRT and population projection for the Penang South Reclamation project.” - FMT