GEORGE TOWN, May 20 — Fifteen non-governmental organisations (NGOs) want the Penang government to continue exploring other alternatives to fund the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) rather than to embark on the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

Led by the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), the NGOs claimed that the PSR project would only bring numerous environmental and social impacts that would affect the future generation.

"The state government should put its money on a good, efficient, affordable, extensive public transport system, rather than just increasing the land bank to the island,” CAP vice-president Mohideen Abdul Kader told a press conference here today.

Another NGO, Penang Forum, said a petition it launched earlier this month to oppose the project had so far garnered 13,500 signatures, and it would continue until July.

Penang Forum committee member Khoo Salma Nasution said the petition also intended to raise awareness about the risks, costs and negative impacts of the PSR project as the state government had been promoting its benefits without fully explaining the impacts. — Bernama