State executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari (DAP-Tanjung Bungah) said a trial run of the “caged-in-situ-septic system”, or CISST, proved very unpopular with residents.
Another system, more acceptable to residents, did not meet with federal standards.
Presently, sewage from 200 household toilets from the six clan jetties on stilts are flushed directly into the sea, the same way it has been done ever since the inception of the jetties in the 1900s.
Residents rely on the tides to wash the sewage into the sea.
The CISST sewerage system was reportedly not popular with residents due to feng shui reasons. The system apparently turns sewage sludge into clean water.
At the winding-up session at the state assembly today, Zairil said a study by a consultant in April had recommended the CISST system or a vacuum sewer system.
However, the vacuum system did not meet the standards set by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN), he said.
This system typically transports sewage from one point to another. Zairil did not explain why the system proposed did not meet federal standards.
He said the consultant, Perunding Pinang Sdn Bhd, was paid RM300,000 to carry out the “Proposed Social Impact Assessment Study for the Clan Jetties of George Town”.
He said as of now, the federal regulator on sewerage systems, the Sewerage Services Department (JPP), will come up with a better solution to satisfy the needs of the residents, with the help of the state Economic Planning Unit.
Penang to speed up 5G infrastructure approvals
Meanwhile, Zairil said the Penang government wants more telco companies to further improve internet connection and speed.
He said the state has an open door policy to allow any telco company to lay its infrastructure.
Zairil said in anticipation of 5G cellular networks, the local authorities will give priority approvals to those wanting to set up infrastructure to meet with the future standards in mobile phone technology.
He said the state’s openness to new technology had vastly benefitted the people.
He said Penang now has one of the best internet infrastructure in the country, with mobile broadband penetration rate of 122.3%, compared to 117.9% nationally.
However, Zairil said fixed broadband penetration is at a low of 11.6% compared with 19.8% nationally.
He said as part of the state’s plans to be pioneers in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it would be calling for requests for proposals to better its public Wi-Fi service for the Penang Free WiFi.
Zairil said companies wanting to provide the service in areas that had not been covered, or upgrade services at existing points, should give their proposals to the state.