NOVEMBER 23 — I am rather surprised to see Penang CM Chow Kon Yeow act like a school bully who cannot accept his school friends not saying “yes” to his “smart” ideas and as a result start throwing tantrums at them.

That is what the CM is making himself look like when he cannot accept that the NGO’s in Penang do not agree with his grand plans to “develop” Penang that are born out of a desire to help business people make money. He then cynically, and proudly, labels them “the new opposition”.

Not being a Penang born, he has no love for the hills and nature on the Island. How many hills on the island has he hiked across to appreciate them, to love them, to not want to destroy them for the sake of some money. He is rather like a mercenary who wants to show his party that he is a very capable person, that he is a tough nut to crack, that he is right, or perhaps even infallible.

All that desire, or greed, for “development” that is based on the amount of money to be made by some people and by the state government, is development of the penny wise pound foolish type.

The plan to build hotels up Penang Hill is to get more people up the hill and money to be made by certain parties, including the state. In doing so, in making that money, what are the long-term consequences?

“Growth” is a mischievous concept of “development” as the end does not justify the euphoria of “development”.  Look at Cameron Highlands that has been growing and growing and grown to a choking stage. It is so obese now that you can hardly move around during holiday seasons. It is now in a diseased condition.

During the healthy days of the Cameron Highlands in the 1960’s and 70’s, coconut oil used to be frozen for 24 hours and used to be cut and sold by weight. Today, it never freezes 24 hours of the day! This indicates, even to a fool, how much deterioration the Highlands have suffered, all for the love of money through “development” to attract tourists. 

All that money cannot bring Cameron Highlands back to what they had been for centuries and millennia until the 1970’s when the virus of “development” attacked it.  

When even governments are consumed by greed for money, they go on a spree of destruction of nature under cover of the label of “development” which is quite easily sold to people ignorant of the consequences of over-meddling with nature.

While other countries have awoken to the damages of modern “development” and are making concerted efforts to stop further degradation of their living and life sustaining environment, the government of Penang under Chow Kon Yeow is hell bent on “development” that is further damaging the environment of Penang Island.

It is time there should be a law that only the “anak tempatan” or persons born and bred in a state and who have spent most of their life in the state, should be eligible to be CM or Ketua Menteri of that state, so they don’t see it’s land, seas and hills as money making machine, but as vital life supports for healthy living . Will New Malaysia consider this?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.