Gerakan: Penang Transport Master Plan will be useless with Kulim airport

GEORGE TOWN (May 14): The proposed Kulim International Airport will compete with the existing Penang International Airport (PIA) and badly impact the state’s economy in the long run, Gerakan was reported saying by The Star today.

“With a newer, modern Kulim Airport as competition, Penang’s economy will suffer and the proposed LRT and highways under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) will become white elephants,” Penang Gerakan chairman Oh Tong Keong said.

“With a suffering economy, there is no need for PTMP or LRT anymore as investors would have left, factories would have shifted away,” he added.

“Factories and investors come to Penang island because of the convenience of the PIA nearby but with Kulim Airport, they might move to Kulim and nearby Taiping,” Oh explained.

The proposed Kulim airport will only be 46km from PIA.

“Looking at the proximity, we know that it will be competing with PIA, Penang will be badly affected,” the daily reported Oh saying.

He also told The Star that Lim Guan Eng as chief minister was against the idea of the Kulim Airport in 2014 “but now that he is the Finance Minister, he made a ‘U-turn’” over Kulim Airport.

Oh also wanted current Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow “to be firm in his stance regarding the Kulim Airport”.

“DAP leaders are now afraid of Bersatu, they dare not go against the prime minister from Bersatu and the Kedah mentri besar who is also from Bersatu,” he added.