State of Penang is not just the island

TAN Hock Lim’s “Yearning for the old George Town” ( The Star, Aug 14) is understandable. Who doesn’t want to live in a city that is pleasant, not crowded, traffic jam-free and easy on the pocket?

However, putting the whole blame on the Unesco heritage site status would be quite unfair.

George Town was historically the first city in Malaysia even before Kuala Lumpur. But look at KL today. I am sure the local people would be yearning for the great old times of their city too. In fact, we need to ask which Malaysian capital cities are still the same now as they were in the 1950s.

Although I agree that the tourist arrivals to George Town has skyrocketed after the Unesco inscription, we need to see that our own local population is increasing too.

George Town has some of the narrowest streets in any state capital and they have remained the same till today.

Some trades that the older generation were in may not appeal to those of the new generation. Hence, the unfortunate loss in the continuation of the trade.

Durians could be expensive not necessarily because of the number of tourists alone. It is the season’s harvest that plays a major part.

Getting the Unesco listing for George Town was not wrong or a problem. George Town belongs to the world. We should be proud to welcome people from all over the globe and be the gracious host.

However, the one thing that is a mistake is the use of the term “Penang” and directing it to George Town or the island only. Even the writer described Penang as an “idyllic island”. If that’s the case, we will continue to have tourists who think of Penang as an island only. It is such a pity to many tourists that some of the state’s best mouth-watering dishes can actually be had economically on the Penang mainland.

Stop looking at Penang as only an island and start promoting it as a state that has many places to visit on the oft-forgotten mainland. This is one way to help spread out the tourist arrivals to George Town, which would help make the city a pleasant place again.

SAZALI HASHIM George Town