IF PENANG’S prominent civil society groups and environmentalists are to be believed, the majority of the island’s residents are strongly opposed to the proposed Pan Island Link 1 (PIL1) highway project.

However, the many locals who find themselves stuck in traffic on a daily basis are welcoming news of the RM7.5 billion proposed highway.

The 19.5-kilometre PIL1 will link Persiaran Gurney to the second Penang Bridge, allowing road users to bypass most of the smaller, congested roads within the city.

“If you don’t build PIL1, there will still be more cars on the road in the future and we will have worse jams because there is no new road for people to use,” said Paya Terubong resident Heng Meow Chong.

“With PIL1, we at least have one more alternative road to ease traffic on existing roads. This is progress for the betterment of the people,” he said.

Heng, who runs a television repair shop next to Jalan Paya Terubong where the proposed PIL1 interchange will be, said he trusts that the state government would have considered all the safety and environmental effects of tunneling through the island’s hills.

Some 70% of the six-lane PIL1, which is a component of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), are tunnels that will run through the hills of Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill), Paya Terubong and Sungai Ara.

Another Paya Terubong resident Narinder Singh said he was tired of being stuck in traffic after work every day.

“I travel to the city for work. I get stuck in jams even on my bike. I pity those who have to drive,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Narinder, 41, said the state government should also pursue other components of the PTMP such as the light rail transit (LRT) from Komtar to the Penang Airport in Bayan Lepas.

“In the past we were worried about the Barisan Nasional federal government not approving the projects. But now Putrajaya is run by the same government as Penang. We should push for the master plan now,” he said.

But, he said it would be a mistake not to build the PIL1 in the name of promoting public transport as he believed it would be many more years before locals will switch to using public transportation.

“I say we need this new highway to give people an alternative road to use when other roads are congested… I don’t think Penangites are going to give up their cars or motorcycles anytime soon,” he said.

Laundrette owner How Chun Lee, whose shop is further up the road from Heng’s in Paya Terubong, agreed that there is a need to immediately improve connectivity in Penang to address the congestion.

“We need progress. To not build PIL1, will make things worse. The population will increase. We still want investors to bring money to Penang, right?” How told The Malaysian Insight.

“If we don’t build roads to improve the connectivity and ease traffic congestion, what is going to happen to Penang?

“If we want to be like Kelantan, then that’s different,” he said.

How also said that objections by civil groups against the PTMP were valid, adding that the state government should also look at improving public transportation instead of only building more highways.

“We have those free bus services, in which Rapid Penang and the state government work together to encourage people to take the bus. That is an improvement.

“But the ridership in most routes is still low. People don’t have confidence in the bus service yet. The buses are not on time. So for convenience, people prefer to drive,” said How.

In Relau, where the PIL1 ends, housewife and mother of two, Ong, voiced support for the project, saying that Penang has too many cars and there has not been any improvement to the traffic situation in a long time.

She believes that PIL1 was good and necessary for Penang’s future. She also thinks the LRT, which the civil groups also oppose, is a good project.

“Having better road connectivity that also helps to reduce travel time cannot be a bad thing. We need the progress.

“Having the LRT will make commuting more convenient for many people. It’s all good for Penang’s future,” said Ong, 49.

Still, there are locals who welcome the reprieve from the traffic jams but remain concerned about the environmental degradation which the project could potentially lead to, especially hillside work.

“Nothing is 100% bad or good. I likely won’t live long enough to see it materialise but I am concerned that the government is undertaking something this huge.

“We have enough projects on hill slopes now. So, I can understand why there’s also a lot of concern among people living close to the proposed highway,” said the woman who only wanted to be known as Ang.

She said that aside from building more roads or even improving the public transportation system, Penang lacked policies to make people less reliant on private vehicles.

“Now that I live in Bayan Lepas, I see the cars in the traffic jams… almost all of them have just one person inside,” she said.

“We don’t have policies like in Singapore that discourage people from driving.” – The Malaysian Insight, August 23, 2018.