“Can Roger Teoh still speak out? Once you are inside, can you still voice your concerns?” asked Citizens Awareness Chant group (Chant) adviser Yan Lee.
Yan pointed out ordinary citizens could take their views on transport issues to the Penang Transport Council, but the council could take a vote and reject them.
He also cited what had happened to former Penang Island City councillor Dr Lim Mah Hui who suffered a backlash after his strong criticisms of the PTMP.
Last year, Lim, a member of Penang Forum, sent a letter to Unesco asking for the UN body to assess the impact of the proposed PTMP. George Town is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
His letter which highlighted how the PTMP could potentially impact the value of the George Town world heritage properties caused an outcry in the state administration with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng describing the act as a “stab in the back”.
Lim, who was appointed to the council from 2011 until last year, declined renomination this year.
And that is why Yan believes that public forums were still the way to go to allow everyone space to have their say.
“For starters, the Penang Transport Council meetings should be open to the public. Proposals by NGOs like Penang Forum and Teoh should be answered openly.
“That is CAT (competency, accountability and transparency),” Yan told FMT.
Lim, meanwhile, wished Teoh well.
“…wish (him) best of luck and to persevere in his quest for competency, accountability and transparency,” he said in a text message to FMT.
FMT reported yesterday that Teoh had withdrawn his resignation from DAP after “constructive talks with the Penang government’s top leadership”.
Teoh said he was going back to the party after he was assured “a direct channel” to air his criticism on the transport master plan.
Teoh quit DAP three weeks ago after complaining that the state government and party did not listen to his views on the PTMP, adding it took the party less than 24 hours to confirm his resignation.
The PhD student in transport studies at the Imperial College in London had argued that the master plan would fail unless it was fully based on the development of public transport.
He wrote several articles openly criticising the PTMP before and after he announced he was quitting the party.