Sick of 4-hour commutes, Penangite groups back PTMP

PETALING JAYA (Aug 9): Some Penangites who are sick of traffic jams along the roads to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone have thrown their weight behind the contentious Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) via a petition supporting the project.

Some 1,011 workers at the area had signed the petition which was handed to Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, reported The Star.

Their representatives had earlier showed up outside the State Assembly building along Light Street in George Town with a banner and cardboard posters proclaiming their support for the plan and decrying the terrible traffic they endure every day.

The group's spokesperson Mohd Nasarudin Sultan said most of the people working in the Free Industrial Zone spend up to four hours daily commuting to and from work.

Meanwhile, representatives from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (Penang Branch) also submitted a petition with over 100 signatures requesting that the PTMP project be hastened to ease the commute of their workers.

Its vice-chairman Jimmy Ong said the proposed Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) will help reduce the traffic jams their employees face.

The LRT is part of the PTMP, which also includes a monorail, cable cars, water taxis, an undersea tunnel and three highways.