Politicians and NGOs say council's plan to close off the road for nine hours a day will promote public drinking and vice activities.
GEORGE TOWN: The planned time-limited closure of a popular road lined with bars has irked a group of politicians and NGOs here who claim it will become a nuisance to residents in the area.
The Penang Front Party (PFP) and Muslim NGOs have said the proposed closure would also promote public drinking and vice activities.
They were protesting against the move by the Penang Island City Council to close a 150-metre stretch of Love Lane, from the Chulia Street junction, to all vehicles from 7pm to 4am daily.
The council offered this solution after a stretch of bars, frequented by tourists, put up tables and chairs on the roadside car park lots next to their bars.
The council also stressed the proposal to close off a portion of the street for several hours a day, was for safety reasons. It however said the decision was not final as they were awaiting feedback from stakeholders.
In a protest held today, PFP chairman Patrick Ooi said a recent visit to the affected stretch revealed the existence of seven bars operating next to each other along Love Lane.
He said a door-to-door visit to residences, businesses and hotels near these bars, found that most of them felt the roadside drinking was a nuisance.
Ooi said 43 shophouses had registered their unhappiness over the “outdoor” drinking.
He said having tables and chairs by the roadside was a clear violation of the law but the city council had apparently turned a blind eye and allowed the practice to continue.
“When we saw many of these shops selling beer, we initially thought it was a ‘tempat buat maksiat’ (vice den).
“On Monday, the owners of these seven shops told us they had not applied to the authorities for permission to place their tables and chairs outside.
“This is not right. Those who frequent this place drink liquor by the roadside, not in the bars.
“We are afraid for the safety of these patrons as a car might crash into them. Is the city council going to guarantee their safety?
“And now the city council wants to close off this road. Have they thought about those living there? Or do they just want to support roadside drinking?” Ooi said during the protest attended by some 30 people.
Ooi and other NGO representatives later presented a memorandum to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, via his information officer Zahar Zainol, at the state government’s office.
Among the reasons outlined in the memorandum as to why roadside drinking should be prohibited was that it promoted vice, was a nuisance to residents in the area, and an annoyance to those staying in motels there.
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Sumber Closure of Penang’s Love Lane angers many