YOURSAY | ‘Don’t play politics, it will come back to bite you.’

Putrajaya punishing Penang, nixed RM100m funds for cable car project - CM

Foureye Man: Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, stop complaining. When your boss Lim Guan Eng was finance minister, he stopped giving allocations to Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) because it is controlled by MCA, an opposition party then. TARC is an education institution for all people, not just for MCA members and their children.

So what is the big deal about this RM100 million allocation being cancelled by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government? It has been cancelled possibly due to environmental concerns.

If DAP regains federal power, please tell Guan Eng to allocate RM40 million directly to TARC, not through its alumni association.

The money is the rakyat’s tax money, not your own party or personal money. The same advice goes to PN, if this RM100 million allocation is worth every penny for the benefit of the rakyat, then give.

To all unprincipled politicians: don’t overplay politics. It has teeth and it will come back to bite you one fine day.

Leon: Foureye Man, what Guan Eng did was wrong. That was his personal vendetta against MCA. But it does not mean it’s right for PN to cancel the cable car project.

That’s why Malaysia’s politics can never mature. Always an eye for an eye but the people suffer.

Money allocated for the cable car project has been promised to the Penang people. This has been promised not just recently but since the BN era but the project never took off.

What is promised should be given. Penang is part of Malaysia and contributed the most tax per capita and GDP to the country, ahead of Selangor.

Iphonezours: Chow, this is politics. We are now back to the old days prior to GE14. Let this be a reminder to DAP that when you have an opportunity to be part of the federal government again, don’t mess it up this time.

Also do you remember how Guan Eng talked about Kelantan when he was the finance minister?

GreenTuna1791: Why has the government given Kelantan RM50 million when the Kelantan government failed to develop the state?

But Penang contributes so much to the Malaysian economy and is discriminated against like this? Is this what our PM meant when he said he is PM for all Malaysians?

Anonymous_1543386425: Chow, when the government has a serious budget deficit, how can it afford to spend RM100 million on a cable car project that benefits Penang only?

We have to think nationally now, not just the states. If each state has your attitude then they are bound to be favourites like when Guan Eng was the finance minister.

Postpone the project until we have the money or if you can, get the private sector to do it if it is so profitable. You also have other mega projects like building highways, land reclamation, etc.

The Analyser: In the present economic climate, there are better uses for RM100 million than a cable car project which has only recently undergone a rebuild.

Maybe the chief minister should understand that the nation is in the middle of the biggest crisis since World War Two and that his project has zero priority.

GreenCondor2500: At times like this, especially with the Covid-19 repercussions, money should be put to good use, not for cable cars.

Many are out of jobs and can hardly survive. What is more important now is helping the rakyat.

Pakcik Kiah: Similarly, the high-speed railway project should be nixed. It’s a waste of money.

Annonnymous 080: @Pakcik Kiah, the only ones who will benefit from the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project are the shareholders and Singapore.

Why do we need so much public money to subsidise businesses who travel to and from Singapore? What will happen to the flights to Singapore? Considering the improvements in technology, why is there a need to have regular physical travel to and from Singapore?

Given Singapore’s Covid-19 experience, it looks like they will reduce dependency on foreign workers and Malaysians on long-term employment are the ones who will be the first to be on the receiving end.

Please do rethink and I don’t want my taxes to be wasted on this project.

OmegaCentral: Why should taxpayers pay for the cable car project? What is the return on investment? This will be an expensive project to not only construct but maintain. Can it make money? If so, why has no private party taken up the project?

If we go by the experience of the Bukit Larut cable car project in Taiping, the project proponent was unable to get financing from the banks. The reason – the project was not viable.

So don't make the same mistake with Penang Hill. Just leave the hill alone. There's lots of money to be made by just maintaining the hill’s beautiful environment.

Leon: The cable car proposal is not a new one. It was offered to Penang during the BN era but an agreement could not be reached between the state government and Putrajaya.

Thus, the cable car project was offered to Langkawi instead. Today, the cable car there is a major tourist attraction. I am sure many who visited Langkawi would have gone up the cable car at least once.

I think the Penang people deserve something for its tourism industry too.

You can’t be comparing Bukit Larut with Penang Hill. How many tourists go to Taiping? The better comparison is the Langkawi cable car project which cost only RM50 million in 2003.

Every day, it attracts around 5,000 passengers at RM55 per person. You can do the math. The annual revenue is around RM100 million.

@Annonnymous 080, the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route is one of the busiest international routes in the world. There are more than 30,000 flights yearly between these two destinations.

The HSR will ease the burden, both on the Causeway and the busy flight route between the two countries. It would also be a more environment-friendly option.

We will have fewer cars coming in from Singapore and many Singaporeans can spend/invest their money in Kuala Lumpur, both for tourism and business. It’s good for our economy.

You can’t say HSR only benefits Singapore. It is beneficial for everyone who takes advantage of better connectivity between the two countries.

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