Finally, for once, the Penang State Government is bowing to people’s power. It is understood that a press conference was called this morning by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to announce that the State Government has decided not to purse the land reclamation at Bayan Bay to Boustead Holdings.

Never mind the reasons given, in the first place, this should not have happened. It was fortunate that the residents of Bayan Bay got wind of it and decided to show their displeasure via a mass demonstration. This was followed by another demonstration by Barisan Nasional in support of the residents. There was even talk that an even bigger demonstration was on the way. If not for these series of demonstrations, the Penang State Government would never have make this decision.

Now that the decision has been made, it has proven that all the efforts taken by the residents of Bayan Bay and Barisan Nasional has been successful in the cancellation of this proposal. Our demonstration has been worthwhile and we will continue to apply such people’s power on the Penang State Government.

However, there is a word of caution. The Penang State Government has merely said that they have decided not to approve the land reclamation to Boustead Holdings but the issue here is not about Boustead or any company, but it is about land reclamation. What the residents of Bayan Bay do not want is land reclamation. The Penang State Government should therefore clarify once and for all that there will not be any reclamation project in Bayan Bay, failing which the people of Penang can only conclude that this is yet another clever political ploy to buy time and votes before the impending General Elections. Who knows if after the General Elections the Penang State Government, if assuming that they are under Pakatan, will make another decision to approve the land reclamation to another company?