WHEN former chief minister and “Father of Modern Penang” Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu passed away in 2010, the state government announced it was renaming the longest expressway in Penang of 18km and the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) building at Bayan Baru after him.
These moves, along with according Dr Lim a state funeral and ordering flags be flown at half-mast, were befitting a man whose contributions in industrialising the island state are still evident today.
Barely four years after naming
the PDC building after Dr Lim as a way to commemorate his life, the evidence of this gesture is set to disappear.
Press reports last week have stated that the building will be demolished to make way for a project called Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Prime. It will be undertaken by a joint-venture company, formed by the PDC and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, in which the former will take up a reported 51 per cent stake.
The four-storey PDC building, located on a 2.7ha site in Bayan Baru, is set to be replaced by a proposed 29-storey and 25-storey BPO towers, which are being planned to accommodate retail outlets, recreational facilities and open spaces.
The PDC and its 415 staff are said to be shifting to the nearby Mayang Mall, a building owned by the PDC, by year-end.
The PDC — which is synonymous with Penang’s economic success and projects such as social housing — moved to its present location in Bayan Baru in 1993 from its original premises at the Penang Skills Development Centre in Bayan Lepas.
The Bayan Baru building, which has seen the clever use of space, natural lighting, ventilation and greenery outdoors and indoors, has always been an address of pride when welcoming either foreign investors or dignitaries.
The mind boggles as to why alternative sites with the potential for lesser traffic congestion have not been considered to house the BPO project.
The current PDC building is within close proximity to a project which is set to generate more traffic to the area, and, so far, no solutions have been offered.
There appears to be no justification in tearing down a solid landmark, and replacing it with two new structures, whose ownership is likely to be shared with foreigners and no longer remain the property of the state.
If it is the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia Cybercity status, which is being eyed by the state authorities in determining the site of the BPO project, the field is wide open on the island, since the first phase of the Penang Cybercity project encompasses the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Park and its vicinity and there are other options the state can look into.
The tearing down of the PDC building and replacing it with high-rise structures is arguably questionable since the building continues to be functional.
The Mayang Mall, on the other hand, has seen better days by way of its maintenance and tenant mix, and should be considered instead as a site for the BPO hub, unless the state is keen for more land.
They can then instead look to
either the Bayan Mutiara area on
the island for this purpose or opt for a greenfield development across the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge to Batu Kawan, where the PDC owns large tracts of land and where more commercial activities should be promoted.
Meanwhile, the state should also be sensitive and mindful in future when naming buildings, venues
and facilities or premises after someone — that this be done with the assumption that the name will be timeless.
This implies that even after a reasonable period, like a decade or more, all names would remain meaningful and the decision or gesture made in dedicating a building or venue is justified.
