2008 going out with a whimper....

The year started with a great omph... there was so much anticipation especially in the political arena...and true to predictions...March 8 or if you like the chinese way of putting 083....the year the opposition roll back the tide ...the blue BN tide...kudos for Anwar Ibrahim's political savvy...getting PAS & DAP on side.......

The aftermath of the elections... the squatter issue, the wrongful use of the ISA on victims instead of on the pepetrators of sensitive issues....and now with the wisdom of hindsight, all masterminded by an unseen hand to undermine the credibility of the wounded Pak Lah and to force his hand to hand over the reigns to his deputy......

The Olympics in Beijing...serve out the coming of age of China...the sick man of Asia...its healing and restoration...and finally an Asian Giant.....after 200 years of abnormality China finally regains its rightful place.....

But the financial meltdown starting in the US when the Government refuse to bail out Lehman Brothers started the downward slide and the mighty crash of 2008...this crash like a big financial tsunami will soon engulf everyone and no one including Malaysia will be spared......

Maybe because of this, the unseen hand in Malaysia had been cautious in "sponsoring' more havoc.......fearing maybe this will send Malaysia into a steep decline, never to recover......when we will be comparing ourselves with Zimbabwe...the favourite African nation led by you know's friend, Mr. Mugabe.....

Mudflats of Bagan Jermal/Gurney Drive - 3

The benefits of having a fully restored Mangroves is the biodiversity that such a forest can attract. Mangroves are ideal places for all kinds of birds both local and migratory ones.....(the feathered types.....not the two legged ones that are attracted to the bright lights and where there's lots of money like casinos)

The forest is home to a rich micro-organic flora and fauna attracting fishes, mudskippers and birds....Even such a small patch around the Bagan Jermal area will bring much needed nature and add color to this urbanised landscape.....
Like the Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary located about 50 miles down south of Penang Island, the bird life will be very rich.... a total of 165 different species from 42 different families are found there. Of these 165 species, 47 of them are migratory ones flying from the northern hemisphere as far away as Siberia to the Southern Hemisphere and stoppping-over in Malaysia.

See this link for the potential that can unfold for this Mud-flats

http://www.wildlife.gov.my/webpagev4_en/bhg_ekokgula.html

(All pictures are from the the above link)

.......and Penangites should defend this mud-flats and not lose them to developers like what happened to the Tanjong Tokong mangroves, turned now into a potential Tsunami disaster zone of the future... a time bomb waiting to happen....

Mudflats of Bagan Jermal/Gurney Drive - 2

Once the planting of Api-Api is completed at the mudflats, more soil and mud will slowly be deposited and more mud-flats will form. This process can be repeated and slowly move towards the accumulation of more land......in the end a sizeable Mangrove forest will be formed.

Once this happens, a platform walkway can be constructed for people to enter the forests and this will bring the forests to the people. An interpretation programme can be developed so that people will be made aware and learn more of this unique environment......

Just imagine a unique mangrove forest right in the middle of an urban setting.....

Mud Flats of Bagan Jermal/Gurney Drive

Man should help accelerate the natural process that will happen at mud flats of Bagan Jermal/Gurney Drive. If ecology is allowed to take its natural course, the mud-flats will be populated by a mangrove species called Api Api in Malay. This species aka Avicennia is a pioneer in the Mangrove forest......if the Mangrove forests are still around within the vicinty...the mud-flats would had been inhabitated by this particular species by now....

Api-api is a pioneer species and its' presence marks the start of a natural succession which ultimately ends up as a "climax" Mangrove forests. Although not as complex as Tropical Rainforests, it is still a very fascinating and unique ecosystem.......

Penang should help this natural succession by planting Api-api....let us help grow back our mangrove Forests in Bagan Jermal...and not reclaimation destroy our unique ecology.

Rapid Penang vs the Competition

Besides Rapid Penang, there are two other bus companies namely Milan and KGNS. They run the Yellow and Blue bus respectively......Frankly I wonder why they even bother to do so.....their busses are crappy...noisy, produce alot of black smoke (inefficient & dirty)...

While Rapid Pg buses are not the world's best but at least they are reasonably clean and the air-cond's pretty decent.....

The reason why I griping is the buses of these two companies are unroadworthy and they (their drivers which I suspect operate as sub-contractors who rents the vehicle) hog the bus lanes in Komtar...refuses to move(trying to pick up customers)....and pollutes the air for the people who are waiting for the other buses to come.....

Unfortunately the State Government which has no power because the licencing power lies in the hands of the Entrepreuner ministry & JPJ is under the Transport Ministry, can only look and see........but I saw something that gave me a little bit of hope....4 members of the police (2 man & 2 woman) were on hand to see the buses did not block the flow of the traffic....

Times Square Dato Kramat Road

At the site of the old Eastern Smelting Company, located in Dato' Kramat Road, there is a new building ...like a phoenix arising, this new landmark will definitely transform this part of the town.

I'm pretty impressed with the owners/developers...they had really done a great job....even in land scarce Georgetown, they had allowed for lots of open spaces, giving the whole complex an ambiance of grandeur....they have also preserve/conserve the old office building of the Eastern Smelting Company and planted nice bamboo around it giving an exotic Japanese feel to it...

The new building had also exposed the road just behind it...the Kampong Jawa Bahru...a very charming tree-lined road that had been forgotten by most Penangites because of its location...the road is rustic and not developed. It starts from Dato Kramat Road directly opposite Perlis Road and then turns sharply towards Brick Kiln Road or Gudawara Road where it ends. After the sharp turn it runs almost parallel to Dato Kramat road, just behind the site of the Eastern Smelting Company.