By Joshua Woo Sze Zeng
10 September 2025
For more than a decade, Lim Mah Hui has positioned himself as Penang’s perennial pessimist. Together with members of Penang Forum, he has objected to almost every major project from the SPICE Convention Centre, to the LRT, to Silicon Island.
His objections are not just repetitive, they are riddled with misinformation and misleading.
Take public transport as example, Mah Hui points to Bogotá’s bus rapid transit (BRT) as the “world’s most successful” model. He insists Penang should follow it to reduce car usage and alleviate congestion.
But the facts tell a different story. Between 2002 and 2012, the number of cars in Bogotá increased by 153%. In 2019, after running the BRT for almost 20 years, Bogotá was ranked the most congested in the world by the Inrix Global Traffic Scorecard. That is hardly a model for Penang.
Mah Hui persists in claiming his Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (a tram-lookalike long bus) is superior to LRT, while ignoring the glaring flaws of the on-ground system such as higher accident risks and slower speeds compared to elevated rail, and ART’s destructive road damage (rutting).
On procurement, Mah Hui claims that the Request-for-Proposal (RFP) method is not an open tender. This is simply wrong. The RFP process is recognised as open bidding by international institutions such as the United Nations, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank.
On Silicon Island, Mah Hui went further. He called it a “lose-lose” project. Yet, the project’s results show the opposite. In just two years, Silicon Island has injected RM1.7 billion into Penang’s economy.
The project has also supported the fishing community. More than RM11.7 million in financial aid has been given to fishermen. A total of 121 new boats, bigger and better equipped, have been delivered. Free seafarer upskilling courses have been offered to 493 fishermen.
At the same time, 490 Malaysians are employed directly on-site. Educational support programmes have reached 240 children of the fishermen community. These are clear, measurable benefits.
Naysayers like Mah Hui have the right to voice their opinions. The media may also turn to his repetitive views when short of fresh stories. But when those views ignore facts, they do more than mislead, they misinform the public.
Infrastructure development in Penang is not reckless construction. It is about preparing Penang for the future, creating jobs, building resilience, and ensuring opportunities for the next generation.
The world is moving fast. Penang cannot afford to be paralysed by misinformed objections.