36 Stewart Lane - A Southern Chinese Eclectic Penang Shophouse

There was a buzz this week as the Ministry of Tourism announced that they were going to replace the existing Victorian era funicular train on Penang Hill with a new modern train. According to reports, the new train will not only hold more people, but it will get them to the top of the hill in as little as 10 minutes as opposed to the current 30. This at a cost of RM 36 million. The project is to begin immediately and take 7 months.

Since this announcement, there has been a flury of objection and concern. The Penang Heritage Trust issued their concerns about the loss of heritage value of the old train and environmental concerns and considers it “an event of great sadness in the rich history of Penang”. There was also a few editorials posted, one of which emphasizes that there is no real need to replace the old funicular, as evidenced by Hong Kong’s example.

This whole situation is most worrisome to me because it is yet another example of the government, in this case the Tourism Ministry, taking it upon itself to replace the train with nearly no public discussion, much less discussion with the directly affected parties. The decision to replace a major part of Penang’s history with a new “modern” train should not have been taken lightly.

This incidents should concern those considering investment in Penang. Unless the local government is ready to start listening to multiple viewpoints on these types of decisions, many investors may consider the state to be too risky to invest in. Paralleling the many positive aspects of Penang, there remains major concerns about transparency in decision making, and the overall plan for the state’s development.

Regarding the funicular issue itself, I am concerned for several reasons:

1. The Penang Hill Funicular is a part of the island’s history. Both domestic and international tourists like it because of its historic value. Any state or country can build a tram that goes up a hill, but they cannot re-produce the history of the one in Penang.
2. People enjoy taking the nice slow journey up the hill. Reducing the time to the top seems more like a negative.
3. There has been no mention of what this might mean in terms of ticket prices. Will visitors have to pay more money to take a trip that provides even less enjoyment?
4. How were the costs to replace the train compared to the costs of upkeeping the old one? It may cost RM 36 million to build the new train, but what are the annual costs beyond that? How do these costs compare to the current train? It doesn’t appear there is any transparency here. Was there even a study done on whether the new train will increase or decrease ticket sales?

Whether replacing the Penang Hill Funicular is a good idea remains to be seen. Until the issue has been thoroughly discussed by local residents, members of the community looking out for the city’s heritage, and a proper environmental study has been completed, any work to tear down the old railway should be halted.