can penang shine again?

long time i have not blog on where i stay – the land of good food – penang! today i will do so.

first of all, some frivalous grumblings. why is it ‘penang’ is penang in english but it is ‘pulau pinang’ in bahasa? have you notice all the states in malaysia has the same names in both english and bahasa, the difference being only the spelling? then why is penang the exception? i feel that in bahasa, penang should remain ‘penang’, and not ‘pulau pinang’… or can it be just ‘pinang’?

satellite pic of penang island. for a bigger, clearer pic, please click here.

yeah of course, the ‘pulau’ is add in because it means island, and penang is an island… ?? eh?? excuse me?? penang state consists of the island and the mainland so it is not right to say penang is an island. when ‘pulau pinang’ is use, does that means they meant only penang island and not the mainland? i’m sure they meant penang state! then why add in the ‘pulau’? ok ok i’m being picky here. i guess pulau pinang is here to stay.

well usually when one mention penang or pulau pinang, one mostly associate it with the island and not the mainland. sometimes it goes so far as when i asked someone where s/he is from and s/he said penang, then i asked whereabout and s/he replied ‘prai’ (which is in the mainland), i said “oh, not in penang.”. haha!

coming back to names in bahasa, i’m sure you notice don’t know whose idea it was that came up with the states names to add ‘darul…’ something. e.g. selangor is selangor darulehsan, right? there is also darulmakmur? which states? methinks all states have the ‘darul…’ tag except penang if not mistaken. why i wonder. but it was a good thing that there is none, as i can’t understand why they need to add those ‘darul…’ in and at that one time, we were told to use it, and many did use it but now, it seems like nobody is using it! well, if penang needs a ‘darul…’ in it, i suggest ‘darulmakan’. haha!

ok ok time to end my silliness. some serious yakkity yak now. ahem!

nowadays if people, esp. those ex penangtites not living in penang now, asks me “how’s penang?” my immediate reply would be “terrible traffic!”.

you know, it’s true about penang’s traffic becoming a nightmare. i travel from bayan baru to macalister road (town area… near komtar), to and fro, everyday for work… a long distance of over 10km, so i should know. house to office, i use sg nibong -> gelugor -> green lane -> dato kramat. office to house, i use jelutong -> gelugor -> bayan baru. and these areas – jelutong, green lane, bayan baru – are famous for heavy traffic. it’s not so bad on a normal bright sunny day but once it rains, gone case… jams here and there!

sad to say, it has been noted that lately penang has lost its appeal as a tourist attraction. the star on 7 nov. reported that penang has lost its tourism lustre. it said tourists now skip penang and prefer to go to places like malacca and KL. yes, the writer lamented that penang has lost its shine as the ‘pearl of the orient’. wong chun wai, star columnist, in his column dated 14 nov. also make a call to bring back the shine to the ‘pearl’.

i notice in malaysiakini, there were also 2 letters in response to wong chun wai’s article in the star. first khoo kay peng echos wong chun wai that penang needs to shine its own pearl. i like khoo’s letter as he touched on those 3 most common familiar aspects many penangtites relate to i.e. traffic congestion, public transport system and cleanliness.

he ended up with a good advise that it takes more than just a responsive, visionary and result-oriented government, but also the support and participation of the people with the right mentality and attitude. penangites should start to adopt a first-world mentality if they want to go far.

the letter from bk ong, in response to khoo kay peng sounds more harsh when he complains that penang is suffering from lack of accountability and put the blame on the present leadership.

i guess in a way he is right but we penangtites must also remember khoo’s wise words, that we have to have the right mentality and attitude to bring the shine back to penang, the pearl of the orient.