Lim Eng Chow, 49, lashed out at officials, saying he was incensed that his numerous complaints to the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) over the menace posed by illegal parking along back lanes had fallen on deaf ears.
He claimed the illegally parked vehicles had hindered firemen from putting out fires fast enough on at least 19 occasions along Hong Kong Street where he has lived for the past 20 years.
“Now you want to beautify back lanes? Have you even consulted the fire department on this? Where are the firemen in this forum? Why aren’t they here?” Lim asked in Hokkien at the auditorium of 50 people this morning.
Despite attempts to offer an explanation, council secretary Yew Tung Seang was constantly interrupted by Lim, who grew angrier by the second and continued to raise his voice.
Lim’s rant lasted a good 10 minutes before council sergeants escorted him out of the auditorium.
Still unable to contain his anger, Lim waited outside the gallery but continued yelling in Hokkien.
Inside, Yew returned some sense of calm to the forum and assured those present that the council would take Lim’s feedback into consideration.
“We will take note of Mr Lim’s grouses, do not worry,” he said.
Also present were Komtar assembly member Teh Lai Heng and city councillor Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, who were there to answer questions from residents.
When met outside the auditorium, Lim told reporters, “The council must know what is important… not just doing what it likes.”
He was commenting on MBPP’s plan to turn three back lanes downtown into cycling tracks so cyclists could enjoy a continuous route from Gama Mall at Jalan Gurdwara to City Hall.
The council also plans to make these back lanes more pedestrian-friendly and allow for small eateries and food trucks to set-up businesses there.
The plan is at its proposal stage, MBPP officials said, and the dialogue today was meant to gauge the support of the residents in those areas and the public in general.
Most who attended today’s dialogue showed support for the plan although there were some concerns raised.
MBPP officials said apart from survey forms handed out to residents for their feedback on the proposal, others who wished to give their comments could do so by logging on to www.mbpp.gov.my.