Group: Hold public meeting before highway project starts

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Citizen Awareness Chant Group (Chant) has called for a public consultation this year to clear the confusion before the proposed 19.5km PanIsland Link (PIL) I that links Gurney Drive to the Penang International Airport takes off.

Its adviser Yan Lee said the state should hold a town hall and invite the public.

This came after Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in a statement on Thursday that the use of inaccurate visuals and description by the NGOs had provoked unnecessary negative sentiments among the public.

Chant responded yesterday by urging the state government to get the relevant parties involved in the project to participate in the town hall to clarify any misconceptions.

“Has anyone gone to the ground and engaged or spoken to the people about PIL I?

“The photos in the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) report are aerial shots and they don’t show what is happening on the ground or how the highways and interchanges will affect homes or businesses.

“I wish to plead with the Chief Minister to get SRS and Zenith to hold a public discussion on how the project will affect the community,” he said at a press conference yesterday, adding that the state government had expressed a willingness to engage the people.

He said the Gurney Wharf project, through public engagement, gained strong support in their feedback.

Situation on the ground: Chant hopes to engage the state government as well as the public on how the works on the PIL I may affect lives near one of its construction sites, pictured here.