Stop work and discuss with residents, state rep tells council
GEORGE TOWN: A DAP lawmaker has urged the local council to halt a landscape upgrading project at the historical College Avenue field pending further discussions with residents in the area.
Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Soo Huey said she only found out about the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) working on the field yesterday.
“My immediate reaction was to ask MBPP to send me details of what it intended to do.
“After seeing the plans, I suggested that they immediately stop work, until we can sit down together to discuss if we can provide a better park for families, young and old in the area, in a way that is not MBPP’s usual sledgehammer method,” she said on her Facebook page.
Yap is overseas on holiday.
She also shared her fond memories of the field, as she used to live near the area, adding that her family had lived in Festival Court (now Adventist Court), at the junction of Persiaran Midlands and Lebuhraya Maktab, from 1987 to 1996, before moving to the area behind Pulau Tikus Market due to the construction of the Midlands One Stop Centre mall.
“When I was staying at Festival Court, I used to walk across the field to my school nearby.
“I’ve spent much time waiting for friends, jumping hurdles and practising athletics on the field,” she said.
She even shared that her grandmother used to go to the hair saloon nearby and she would sit and wait for her at the field.
“After leaving SK Convent Pulau Tikus, I continued my studies at SM Convent Pulau Tikus and had netball and athletics training there.
“I now continue to frequent the area, so I know the field and the community well.
“I appreciate how urban and community parks can function better with some help from a good city council.
“However, my view is that uprooting the grass is a waste and I think there are certainly skill sets and knowledge that need to be improved in MBPP,” she said.
She also assured the residents in the area that they would “make good” or she would protest with the residents “until good is done”. It was reported that residents in the area had objected to the project.
The residents had also formed a resident committee and submitted a letter to MBPP, objecting to the project, which saw the grass of the field dug up for a supposed concrete jogging track. The residents have also started an online petition which has garnered about 700 signatures to date.