Ipoh's sluggish economy may get a shot in the arm with the DAP special task force's 15 recommendations to the Ipoh City Structural Development Plan 2020.
DAP state secretary Nga Kor Ming (left in photo) says the eight-member party special task force was formed after the Ipoh City structural plan was put up for public feedback about a month ago.Nga said that toppping the list is a call for Petronas to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the city's industrial sector to cut fuel costs by 30 percent.
During Pakatan's eight-month rule of Perak, Nga had tried to persuade Petronas to open a gas line to Ipoh's industrial areas, but alleged that the national oil company had shut its doors to the request.
Nga said their attitude was puzzling as Petronas was willing to supply LNG worth RM40 billion to Shanghai, China.
He believes the lack of gas supply is one of the reasons why foreign and local investors are shying away from Ipoh.
The second recommendation focuses on the public transport system in Ipoh, a bane of residents as the network and synergy is poor among the three bus stations at Ipoh Central in Meru Raya, Medan Gopeng bus station, Medin Kidd bus station and the Ipoh railway station.
Nga is curious over what had happened to the RM150 million contract for the purchase of 300 air-conditioned buses to ply Ipoh's streets, that Pakatan had initiated during its rule .
Free WiFi
Among the other recommendations is the expansion of the Sultan Azlan Shah airport in Ipoh to be on par with other state capitals, the creation of more public parking spaces and bicycle lanes to encourage cycling on weekends.
DAP also recommends implementation of environmentally-friendly renewal energy sourcing, and the creation of more green lungs in the city, as the present Dr Sreenivasagam and polo ground recreation areas are insufficient for the growing population of Ipoh.
To upgrade the city intellectually it recommends providing free WiFi for the entire city to encourage IT knowledge, and also to start a zone for higher education institutions to draw more foreigners to turn Ipoh into a hub for education.
It encourages riding on the town's glorious history as a tin-mining centre for tourism, by creating a historical lane and museum, and expand the famous pomelo eco-tourism zone in Tambun from the present 107 acres to 370 acres to include the Tambun Hot Spot Resort.
The task force also asks to retain the historical identity of the Chinese Yew Tet Shin octagon hub business centre, instead of changing it into a Malay heritage centre. They also suggest road signs to be in five languages namely Arabic, Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil.
In addition, state land should be reserved for the building of places of worship like churches and temples, and for land for non-Muslim cemeteries.
Most importantly perhaps, it is recommending that local council elections, in line with the principle of ”no tax without representation”. In other words, residents should only pay taxes if they are represented by elected local councillors of their choice.