MCA Penang State

The Star, Sunday January 30, 2011

By MANJIT KAUR manjit@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Hill funicular train service is expected to resume at the end of March, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen. She said the physical part of the project to upgrade the service should be completed by tomorrow while it would take another month for testing and commissioning.
“I hope we can get things going by end of March,” she told reporters after a meeting with state MCA leaders here yesterday.

It was earlier reported that the RM63mil upgrading project was expected to be completed last December.
The project, undertaken by the Tourism Ministry, had started in February last year to improve services after the previous 87-year-old train frequently broke down.

Dr Ng, who is also Penang MCA chairman, said she also had a lengthy talk with botanical researcher Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat and was pleased with his idea and initiative to develop a garden up the hill.
“We also talked about entry fees and I suggested that they look into the possibility of having different rates for Malaysians and non-Malaysians,” she said, adding that other countries also charged different rates for their citizens and non-citizens.

Dr Ng was commenting on Lim’s intention to cultivate more interest in botany with his Bellevue Ginger Gardens and Aviary on Penang Hill.

On another matter, Dr Ng said Penang MCA would be holding a 1MCA Medical Foundation fund-raising dinner on March 26 to raise a minimum of RM600,000.

“It will be an evening of celebration of 1Malaysia where the haves among the rakyat will be able to contribute to the have-nots,” she said. She said the funds could help those in need such as babies with heart problems who require emergency operations.

“The funds are also available to those who require special prosthesis,” she said, adding that about RM150,000 of the RM9mil raised so far had been disbursed.