Why Penang's traffic solutions should start on the ground – not in the air

By Ms Teng

I’m writing in response to Penang transport chief Zairil Khir Johari’s recent dismissive and unhelpful response regarding traffic issues in Penang.

In touting the RM17bn elevated light rail transit project, Zairil had dismissed proposals for dedicated bus lanes as unrealistic, saying Penang lacked space, with his comment that “unless these buses are flying, they need to use the same roads as well” – a response that many residents found patronising.

First of all, I am not an activist but, a Penangite and a stakeholder in the future of Penang, as well as a constituent. 

Everyone in Penang wants to see our traffic problems reduced. However, proper dialogue and sensible contributions from all stakeholders are the way forward.

There are many things the government could have done over the many years it’s been in power and could still do to help alleviate some of our traffic issues. These are a few that come to mind:

For a state of Penang’s size, we have a terrible undersupply of public transport. Rapid Penang currently operates about 300 buses in the state, which is inadequate for our population and the number of visitors we receive.

Our traffic light system is poorly coordinated, worsening traffic flow problems. Modern cities use intelligent traffic management that adapts to real-time conditions.

Nothing is done about illegal parking on major roads. This creates bottlenecks and forces traffic into fewer lanes or narrower free space.

Large development projects like Kobay and the Boon Siew villa project are signed off knowing full well that they will worsen traffic in both the short and long term.

The encroachment of stalls and small businesses onto pavements means that pedestrians have to resort to walking on roads. This creates additional safety hazards and hinders traffic flow.

These and other problems are aspects of Penang’s traffic woes that the Penang government could have done something about but has chosen to ignore. These are low-hanging fruit that every other modern city in Asia is working to improve upon. 

Why doesn’t the government do something about these things first, before lavishing tens of billions of ringgit on large-scale projects that will do little to ease the traffic congestion we often experience. No one disputes that we need better infrastructure, but it should be part of a plan to reduce the use of cars and increase the use of public transport for us all. 

The Penang government has a history of ‘developing’ first and putting in place the proper infrastructure second. This is not an intelligent way to manage any cities’ mobility.

What we need is open dialogue so that all stakeholders and constituents – not just the government’s and developers’ ideas and views – are heard. After all, the government is supposed to work for all the people of Penang.

Ms Teng is a resident of Bukit Ria in Penang.