PIL 1 highway raises fears of undermining LRT in Penang

Free Malaysia Today

Critics warn the RM7.5bil highway could cannibalise ridership of the proposed LRT system.  Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/01/09/pil-1-highway-raises-fears-of-undermining-lrt-in-penang/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #PIL1 #LRT #Penang

Transcript

00:00The proposed Pan Island Link 1 highway in Penang has sparked fresh concerns among activists

00:07who warn that its construction could undermine the ridership potential of the state's planned

00:12light rail transit system. The highway, which received environmental approvals in 2019

00:18but never took off due to a lack of funds, is intended to connect Gurney Drive and Bayan Lepas

00:24via a 10-kilometre tunnel running through the Penang Hill Range.

00:28However, on Tuesday, it was revealed that the federal government may fund the PIL-1

00:33under the Shelf Malaysia Plan. Anil Netto, a member of the Penang Forum Steering Committee,

00:39said the proposed highway's alignment is almost identical to the LRT line,

00:44raising fears that commuters might opt for cars over public transport. He said Putrajaya's

00:50proposed funding of the highway would represent a shift away from earlier promises that the project

00:56would not rely on taxpayer funds. Ku Salman Nasution, another member of the Penang Forum,

01:02called for transparency and urged the state to make the environmental impact assessment

01:07publicly accessible again, adding that it should be displayed for public scrutiny.

01:12Meanwhile, Lim Mahui, an economist and member of the Penang Forum,

01:16criticised the state government's lack of responsiveness to public objections,

01:20adding that the group felt its 39-page objection was ignored. Pan Yujo, FMT News.

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