George Town Centric Mentality

Learn this term and remember it: George Town Centric Mentality. It is a negative, unhealthy form of thinking, although many of us often do it without realising.

Now, what's George Town Centric Mentality? It's the type of thinking that Penangites are not created equal, that George Town people matters more than the rest of the Penangites. This form of thinking stems from people who spend most of their time within George Town, they never crawl out of their urban zone. This same people may fret about America Centric Mentality (the type of thinking among Americans that the rest of the world doesn't exist), and yet they themselves harbour George Town Centic Mentality while claiming themselves to be Penangites.

I am raising this issue due to the article in today's (Thursday, 6 March 2014) The Star, where it says, "DAP rep: Prioritise public transport, not undersea tunnel"

I fully appreciate that it is the duty of YB Miss Yap to defend her constituency. I agree that the state should continue to improve on public transportation. However the choice of word, "prioritise" is an unfortunate display of George Town Centric Mentality. What it means, without explicitly stating, is that the interest of George Town people (read that as Pulau Tikus people) matters more than that of Kepala Batas or Penaga people. This type of thinking comes from people who do not stay in places like Kepala Batas, and cannot begin to appreciate the hardship of people staying there. To the George Town Centric, places like Kepala Batas do not exist in their radar, and even if it does, it is populated by country bumpkins who never leave their hamlet. That type of thinking makes me sad, and should be erased.

Remember this: a person living in Kepala Batas and working in Gurney Paragon has to travel a long distance everyday to get to work and back. He too is a Penangite, and his welfare matters. Who is thinking of his welfare? He would appreciate an undersea tunnel that could reduce his distance to Pulau Tikus, and he would also appreciate a bus service between Kepala Batas and Pulau Tikus.

What YB Miss Yap should have said is that improving public transport should be CONCURRENT to planning of the undersea tunnel. In other words, at times the state will pay attention to public transport, and at other times, on the planning for the undersea tunnel. There should not be a PRIORITISATION of one over the other.

Let's treat all Penangites as equal. Each time we find ourselves harbouring George Town Centric thinking, re-evaluate our thoughts and move in the direction that benefits all Penangites.


View Kepala Batas to Pulau Tikus in a larger map

I present here the calculations of distance between Pulau Tikus and Kepala Batas. On the existing route, it is 40.3 km. On the new route, via the undersea tunnel, it takes approximately 19.4 km. It is roughly half the distance.

Yes, improving public transport in Penang is important and should never be neglected. However, there should not be a prioritisation of public transport over infrastructure or vice versa. Both has to go concurrently.

There's a saying that when the tide rises, it lifts all boats. When we apply this to infrastructure, it means that if you improve infrastructure, you also improve public transport.

Assuming you take a Rapid Penang bus from Kepala Batas to Pulau Tikus, and the bus travels at 40 kph, you will take an hour to reach your destination on the existing route. However, on the new route, you will take only half an hour, as the distance is only half. The existing route cuts right through the congestion of George Town, whereas the new route passes through less congested places. Therefore, if a bus travels at 40 kph on the existing route, it should be able to travel at MORE than 40 kph on the new route. That said, you may take less than half an hour.

The Central and Southern portions of Seberang Perai are now linked to Penang Island. Efforts should now be paid to ensure the Northern part of Seberang Perai is not left out. With development there, traffic can move both ways, from Kepala Batas to Pulau Tikus and from Pulau Tikus to Kepala Batas. That means, people living in Pulau Tikus can commute smoothly to industrial parks in Kepala Batas. Everybody wins.

Again I stress: public transport in Penang is important, and it is right to urge the state never to let up on improving it. But focus should be holistic, not one over the other.

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