This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 27, 2018
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Pakatan Harapan is pushing on with its plan to build the much-debated undersea tunnel and light rail transit (LRT) connecting the island and mainland.
These were among the proposals in the coalition’s 68-point “I Love Penang” manifesto for the 14th general election.
“We continue to press for our dream to have the LRT and the undersea tunnel from Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam (Butterworth), and abolish the toll on the first Penang Bridge,” said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The tunnel and LRT projects, which are on hold in view of the general election, are part of a combined RM33.3 billion integrated infrastructure development including highways and a tram to alleviate congestion in Penang.
Pakatan also called for the decentralisation of powers to the states for public transportation, social services, agriculture and the environment.
The tunnel’s feasibility studies and detailed design costs have been a topic of contention with Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, who have demanded that the project to be scrapped in the BN’s general election manifesto for Penang.
“BN has no alternative to building the LRT to alleviate traffic congestion on both the island and the mainland,” Guan Eng said during the launch.
Pakatan plans to allocate RM50 million for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the form of the SME Market Advisory Resource and Training Centre that provides subsidised rental space in Bayan Lepas and Batu Kawan.
It also promises the RM4 million Penang Industry 4.0 Seed Fund to help young technopreneurs and enhance the Hope Loan Scheme, an interest-free microcredit finance of up to RM25,000,
The coalition also expects to limit the chief minister’s tenure to two years. Regarding welfare aid, Penangites whose monthly household incomes are below RM5,000, would be eligible for RM300 subsidy for medical services in private hospitals via an “I Love Penang” card for families under its “Penang Sihat Programme”.