The scarring of Penang Hill; the running down of Penangs ferry service

Scars and brown patches have pockmarked the face of Penang Hill evidence of illegal land clearing on the hill. The bruising is evident as you approach the island using the atrocious skeleton ferry service under the now privatised Penang Port.

I had the misfortune to be on the ferry, Pulau Angsa, built in 1980. For some reason, the ferry that day moved at a glacial speed, making many passengers and commuters late for their appointments a journey which once used to take 13-14 minutes took more than half an hour that day, last week. And thats not counting the waiting time for the ferry.

But the painstakingly slow ride afforded me a good long view of Penang Hill. Through the haze, I was horrified to see the scarring of Penang Hill, the once lush and verdant shroud of forest now battered and bruised.

***

A generation ago, we had a fast and frequent ferry service (most times you only had to wait a few minutes for a ferry), little or no queues at the ferry terminals, clear skies and a lush green Penang Hill, which rose majestically at the centre of the Island.

Sorry, only three ferries in service (July 2014)!

Now the ferry service has been run down (only one to four ferries operate, just one at night including during peak holiday seasons, and no ferries after 1.00am), so that waiting times have soared. If the next ferry that arrives is full, you are in for an even longer wait.

The ferry service under Penang Port Sdn Bhd, controversially privatised last year to Sea Terminal Sdn Bhd, linked to Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, is a far cry from the superb service during its glory days. From the mid-1970s until the old ferry terminal on the mainland collapsed in 1988, about a dozen ferries plied the channel, the waiting time rarely more than a few minutes.

The old ferry terminal was never rebuilt, allowing the Penang Bridge, completed in 1985, then under the politically connected UEM, to collect even more tolls from motorists who opted for the bridge rather than wait interminably for the reduced number of ferries at the remaining newer terminal.

Originally posted here:
The scarring of Penang Hill; the running down of Penangs ferry service