The Sungai Nibong venue has become synonymous with the festival, drawing families during the year-end school holidays. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
PESTA Pulau Pinang is taking place one last time at its Sungai Nibong home before the site is taken up for the Mutiara Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.
The month-long festival, which runs from today until Jan 10, will not be held in following years as the land is scheduled to be handed over to MRT Corp in June for the building of the LRT depot and station.
Penang tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said there was no alternative venue ready and setting one up would require major infrastructure.
“Pesta will not be continuing in the interim as no alternative site has been identified,” he said.
“We understand that the Prime Minister has said the iconic festival should continue, but we have no site for now.
(Below) The scene at last year’s Pesta Pulau Pinang. — Filepic
“As such, this year will be the last Pesta until the Mutiara Line is completed.”
Wong said the state might bring the event back to Sungai Nibong after 2031, though in a reduced format due to space constraints.
“Replicating what we have here from scratch would take time and substantial investment.
“So, instead of shifting to a temporary site that may not be suitable, the state has decided to pause Pesta and possibly return once the LRT is ready,” he said.
He said the state was open to ideas of relocating the festival to Seberang Perai, but there were no concrete plans yet.
“Any move must ensure Pesta remains accessible and attractive to families from both the island and mainland,” he added.
Wong’s remarks followed earlier announcements that the Sungai Nibong grounds would be partially absorbed into the Mutiara Line LRT project as a station and supporting facility zone.
The LRT line is expected to be completed in 2031.
This marks the longest pause in the festival’s history.
Pesta Pulau Pinang began in the late 1960s as a year-end state fair to promote tourism and community activities.
It moved across various venues before settling in Sungai Nibong in the early 1970s.
Since then, the venue has become synonymous with the festival, drawing families from across Penang and the northern region during the year-end school holidays.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had earlier said the fair held sentimental value and the takeover should be handled with care.
Wong said the state’s long-term plans aligned with that view.
“We are not scrapping Pesta. Construction must take place and once the LRT is completed, we could bring it back within the new site’s layout,” he said.
This year’s edition of the festival features concerts, rides and cultural showcases.
According to Pesta Pulau Pinang deputy manager Nuar Rizal Kamarudin, one of the highlights is the new Air Force ride, imported from Italy, and is suspended about 30m in the air.
“It joins the Kids Roller Coaster, Euro Wheel, Vortex, Sky Rider and Daytona rides.
“There are 17 game booths this year, with prizes like toys and teddy bears,” he said.
Daily concerts will feature popular Malaysian acts including Datuk Awie and Ella.
“We have multiple sought- after musical acts every night.
“This is a big deal, as it is rare that one has the opportunity to witness such acts for a mere RM5 entry fee,” said Nuar Rizal.
Other activities include silat and muay thai demonstrations, e-sports tournaments, a Bollywood night, colouring contests, a boria showcase and boxing matches.
Food-wise, there are 20 food trucks, 40 stalls and five kiosks serving Thai cuisine.
“We even have some surprises in store for our visitors, as we want to celebrate this final Pesta here,” said Nuar Rizal.
Pesta Pulau Pinang is open daily from 5.30pm to midnight.
Entry is RM5 for Malaysian adults and RM10 for foreigners. Children aged 12 and below enter free.
Schemes to ease future congestion causing traffic trouble in Penang
GEORGE TOWN: Traffic on Penang island is often monstrous, especially at peak hours, with narrow roads and many industrial areas.
With five major transportation projects taking off almost in tandem this year, the nightmare is going to get worse for Penangites – at least until the projects are completed.
The Bayan Lepas area – where most factories are, Air Itam – the most densely populated area on the island, and Jalan Utama – the main thoroughfare leading to the seaside areas of Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Bungah and Telok Bahang, are especially notorious for their jams.
However, these are also the places where the projects, meant to ease the island’s perennial traffic woes, are being built.
The RM851mil Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass project is almost 50% ready but is causing massive jams in the Bandar Baru Air Itam area.
The four other projects that are expected to clog up nearby roads are the land reclamation project of Silicon Island in Batu Maung, the RM1.5bil Penang International Airport expansion, the Federal Government-funded Mutiara Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) – all in the Bayan Baru-Bayan Lepas area – as well as the RM245mil Penang Hill cable car project at Jalan Kebun Bunga.
For the next few years, motorists will have to bear with not just worse jams but also the inconvenience, noise, dust and vibrations.
The jams in Air Itam are already a major headache which Penangites have never experienced before.
“It can take me about 30 minutes to pass the traffic light junction at peak hours, when it should take just five minutes,” said hotel manager M. Muniandy, who lives in Air Itam.
“Two lanes at the junction were taken away to build the elevated road and now cars are lined up for between 2km and 3km just waiting for the light to turn green.
“I’ve never had such a bad time driving before.”
Muniandy was referring to the junction at Lebuhraya Thean Teik and Jalan Angsana, the main thoroughfare of Bandar Baru Air Itam.
Once it is completed, the Air Itam bypass will allow residents to have an uninterrupted hillside route all the way to the expressway near the Penang Bridge without having to cut through the city.
This will reduce the current 40-minute drive between Bandar Baru Air Itam and the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway to less than 10 minutes.
For now however, residents are dealing with intense bottlenecks and long queues at junctions.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman said that the traffic impact assessments of these mega projects were each created in “silos”.
“They are done piecemeal, in a disjointed manner. It is a town-planning nightmare.
“We face unprecedented traffic congestion because of the shortsighted planning for long-term projects, some of which we continually assert are unnecessary,” she said.
Other stakeholders argue that while these mega projects are good for Penang in the long run, state authorities need to plan them out more carefully.
GUH Holdings Bhd’s Datuk Seri Kenneth H’ng said that besides intolerable jams, the severe shortage of public parking space is another daily headache.
“A new factory in Bayan Lepas is under construction right next to ours and because of that, the local authority has removed the roadside parking lots.
“Employees now suffer from a severe lack of public parking. They end up being forced to park illegally where they are regularly fined,” lamented the chief executive officer of the electronics, properties and utilities group.
To help his employees, H’ng’s firm provides special allowances for them to park at a nearby shopping complex early in the morning and a shuttle bus to take them to and from the factory.
“Because one factory is being built, the shopping complex’s parking facility is under strain, our company must bear extra cost and our employees also have to come out with money for ehailing rides to get back to their cars if they miss the shuttle.
“Poor planning causes far-reaching inconveniences to many.
“We need the authorities to plan construction work with all due diligence because the jams and parking problems erode the quality of life in Penang,” H’ng said.
The state government, meanwhile, has appealed for public cooperation and patience while these projects are carried out.
“The government cannot do it alone. We need the people’s full cooperation,” said state infrastructure and transport committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari.
One short-term solution the authorities are hoping will help is to station traffic policemen at critical junctions affected by these projects during peak hours.
Zairil said each of those projects has a detailed traffic management plan to reduce the impact of construction work on motorists.
“Every project will have a traffic management plan, but there will still be inconveniences. So we must all be patient and plan our commutes because the public infrastructure being constructed will eventually solve the traffic problems.
“Whenever there is major construction anywhere in the world, there will be short-term traffic consequences,” he said.
He said a new committee on road congestion and safety has been formed by the federal Cabinet and its first meeting will be held early next month with Penang traffic being on the agenda.It will be chaired by the secretary-general of the Transport Ministry, he added.
The construction of Penang’s first light rail transit (LRT) project will begin by the fourth quarter of this year, says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister added that the Penang LRT Mutiara Line project has been officially taken over by the Federal Government and is estimated to take six years, with completion slated for by 2030.
“We hope that within six months, the negotiations with SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd can be concluded.
“Following that, we expect physical works can start at least by the fourth quarter this year,” he told reporters at the ministry’s office on Friday (March 29).
The contracts for the LRT project have been divided into three main components – Silicon Island to Komtar contract (Segment 1), Komtar to Penang Sentral contract (Segment 2) and turn-key systems and rolling stocks contract.
Loke said SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd has been offered the Segment 1 contract based on the Single Sourcing Request for Proposal mechanism.
Meanwhile, the other two remaining contracts will be offered on an open tender basis.
“The offer (to SRS Consortium) was made based on the request by Penang state government which had appointed SRS as the Project Delivery Partner of the Penang Transportation Master Plan, which comprises the Penang LRT Mutiara Line, through an open tender in August 2015.
“SRS has also studied the technical early designs while acquiring approvals for the Environmental Impact Assessment, Social Impact Assessment and conditional Skim Kereta Api,” he said, adding that the costs were also borne out by SRS.
Loke added that the Cabinet has agreed to appoint MRT Corp as the developer and asset owner of the new train line.
He said that the rolling stock operations depot and transit-oriented development projects will be conducted by MRT Corp together with the state government.
“The new strategy aims to generate extra non-fare revenue to be reinvested for train maintenance in the future,” he added.
Stretching about 29km, Penang LRT Mutiara Line, will be equipped with 20 stations which include two interchange stations in Komtar and Penang Sentral.
The construction of Mutiara Line, Penang’s first light rail transit (LRT) project, will be according to schedule despite a minor amendment to the original plan.
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Corp chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Zarif Hashim said everything would be carried out on time, adding that there is no need for the resubmission of the environmental impact assessment (EIA).
“The slight amendment to the track is meant to accommodate the line extended to Penang Sentral on the mainland from Penang island via an elevated track above the sea.
“Once we have updated the data on the LRT alignment, we will need to engage all the relevant agencies through workshops.
“The amended alignment, once finalised, will then be provided as an addendum meant for the necessary approval.
“All these will be done in the next three months. The main component of the alignment is still intact,” he said after giving Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin a briefing on the RM10bil project during the North Zone Madani Rakyat programme at the Sungai Nibong Pesta site in Penang.
It was earlier reported that the Penang government had planned to hold a workshop with stakeholders to finalise the Penang LRT Mutiara Line project following minor amendments to the original plan.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow was quoted as saying that the workshop was expected to be held within a week or two so that further work involving the transformative infrastructure project could be carried out.
In the latest report released by MRT Corp, the alignment will begin from Penang Sentral on Penang mainland to the proposed first station on Penang island – Macallum.
From Macallum, it will pass through Komtar, Jalan Gurdwara, Solok Sungai Pinang, Sungai Pinang, Jelutong Timur, all the way to Silicon Island.
Two proposed stations – Bandar Sri Pinang and Sky Cab – along Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, which were seen in the original plan, have since been taken out of the picture.
On March 29, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that the Federal Government officially took over the Penang LRT Mutiara Line project from the state government, with MRT Corporation appointed as the developer and asset owner.
The procurement of the project is divided into three main components, which are civil construction works for Segment 1 which is the alignment of Silicon Island to Komtar; works for civil construction for Segment 2 which is the line from Komtar to Penang Sentral and a “turnkey contract” for system and carriage (coach) works.
Also present at the briefing were Batu Uban assemblyman A. Kumaresan and Kebun Bunga assemblyman Lee Boon Heng.
Station names are provisional and subject to confirmation.
Moving Towards a Modern Penang
The proposed BL LRT line will cover a distance of 29.9 km, forming the main North-South rail backbone on the island. As the first LRT system in Penang, the BL LRT line will provide direct airport transit from Penang International Airport to major destinations on the island. The line will begin at Komtar and ends at the upcoming Penang South Reclamation (PSR) Smart City.
29.9km in length;
27 stations;
First LRT line in Penang;
Passes through high-demand areas like Komtar, Macallum, Jelutong, LCC Terminal and Bayan Lepas FIZ.
THROUGH BL LRT, WE CAN:
Travel efficiently without getting into traffic congestion
Travel safely and be more cost effective
Increase productivity and personal time. Less time on the road means more time for family, work and leisure
Move towards greener Earth. Light rail consumes less energy per passenger than cars and thus, less carbon footprint
(Below) The scene at last year’s Pesta Pulau Pinang. — Filepic
