PENANG must use the next five years to prepare its people for a shift towards public transport, with changes in travel habits needed alongside the development of the Mutiara Line light rail transit (LRT) project.
State Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari (PH – Tanjong Bunga) said building new infrastructure alone would not resolve traffic congestion, stressing the need to reduce the public’s dependence on private vehicles.
He said the state would adopt a balanced approach by making public transport more attractive through better bus services, improved connectivity, pedestrian and cycling facilities, while gradually introducing measures to manage private vehicle usage.
“Over the next five years leading up to LRT operations, we must make use of this period to build public confidence and familiarise the people with using public transport.
“We cannot build a modern public transport system while maintaining a culture that remains entirely dependent on private vehicles. New infrastructure must be accompanied by new thinking, new habits and a willingness to change,” he said during his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly sitting yesterday (Nov 4).
Zairil said the state would also look into improving bus frequency, punctuality and route coverage, including services to rural areas, through further discussions with Rapid Penang.
In the meantime, traffic management measures would include better traffic light coordination, improvements at critical junctions and traffic dispersal plans during the construction of the LRT line and major road projects.
On flood mitigation, Zairil revealed that Penang had identified 170 flood-prone locations statewide, comprising 44 hotspots and 126 other flood-risk areas, based on records from 2023 to 2025.
He said the state government, through the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS), would prioritise mitigation efforts based on the causes of flooding, drainage capacity and risk levels at each location.
“Actions taken by JPS include river cleaning and dredging, upgrading drainage systems, as well as providing flood mitigation infrastructure according to the needs of each location,” he said.
He added that the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) spent almost RM3 million annually on maintaining flood retention ponds in Seberang Perai.
For 2027, the allocation for river maintenance would amount to RM7.85 million, comprising RM2.85 million from the state government and RM5 million from the Federal Government.
On data centre investments, Zairil said the state would adopt a selective approach, taking into account the substantial electricity and water requirements of large-scale facilities.
He said hyperscale data centres could require between 100MW and 500MW of electricity, as well as one million to five million gallons of water daily.
He added that such facilities also offered limited employment opportunities for local talent compared with their substantial resource requirements.
Nevertheless, he stressed that Penang was not rejecting data centre investments, citing the Open DC facility in Bayan Lepas, which began operations in April 2025 with an initial power requirement of 10MW and the potential to expand to 30MW.
“The state government does not reject data centre development, but is adopting a selective approach by prioritising the security of electricity and water supplies, as well as sustainable economic benefits for Penang,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zairil said the state had applied for RM750 million from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) under the Universal Service Provision Fund to strengthen digital connectivity.
The proposed initiative includes approximately 290km of fibre-optic network, mainly in Seberang Perai, expanded 5G connectivity, communication towers and high-speed public WiFi facilities.
He also said the state had requested RM2 billion in Federal Government funding for the Perak-Penang water supply project, covering water treatment facilities in Perak and distribution infrastructure in Penang.
Approval of the funding, either fully or partially, could reduce the financial burden on the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) and potentially lower capacity charges.
Story by Kevin Vimal
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis