Life.Culture.Discovery.

The fight to save Penang from proposed mega projects that threaten to erode its heritage

Various local NGOs have come together to oppose construction projects in the Malaysian state, including three motorways, an undersea tunnel and three new islands

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An aerial view of George Town, in Penang, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 10:15am, 15 Feb 2020Updated: 10:32am, 15 Feb 2020

Driving into Penang’s capital, George Town, grey-haired yet youthful driver Danny Khoo pulls over on Gurney Drive, once a seaside promenade and now a lengthy procession of gleaming condominiums. The area beyond this shoulder is fenced off from the beach by a large reclamation project.

“When I was a kid,” says Khoo, getting out of the car and smoothing down his multi-hued shirt, “we would park here and run straight onto the beach for a swim.”

It’s the same story around the island, with sea views blocked off by condos, reclamation works, or both. Like nearby Bangkok, or faraway Vancouver, overzealous property development and investment-not-residence buyers have created significant overstocking, with many flats unoccupied.

Hongkongers, in particular, are drawn to this other formerly British island with its easy-going style, affordability and friendly immigration rules. It is home to a large ethnic Chinese population and is less than four hours’ flight from Chek Lap Kok. As Hong Kong’s unrest has dragged on, the real-estate platform PropertyGuru has seen a 35 per cent increase in web traffic from Hong Kong to its Malaysia portal, much of the interest directed at Penang.

Penang’s Gurney Drive, where reclamation is being carried out. Photo: Shutterstock

Central George Town’s layout has changed little since colonial days, with European-style buildings clustered around the seafront, and Indian, Malay, Chinese and Eurasian quarters nearby. The preservation of this historical multicultural architecture reinforces the fierce pride Penangites take in their capital, preserved for decades by low rents laid down under British law, which dampened redevelopment. When the controls were lifted, in 2000, a stagnant economy offered further protection against real estate’s rapacious parasitism until George Town was bestowed Unesco World Heritage status, in 2008.

Two kilometres inland from Gurney Drive, in the shadow of Penang Hill, lies Penang Sports Club, a lush 6.5 hectares laid out by the British as a cricket ground in 1947. Over drinks on the veranda, long-time residents discuss development in the form of massive projects backed by the state government. There’s the Penang Transport Master Plan, which includes a six-lane motorway running south to north, the length of the island, and a parallel rail track. There are plans for an undersea tunnel and other new motorways, and to finance it all, a Penang South Reclamation project to create three islands off the south coast that would increase the island’s current population of 700,000 by 60 per cent.