MEASURES to reform the mode of governance in Penang were the focus of a fairly wide range of activities last week, following the swearing-in of new Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) 1 Mansor Othman. They included a minor reshuffle of state executive council duties, a protest by PKR members of the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) and a decision by the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) to stick by the 18-metre height guidelines within the George Town World Heritage Site (WHS). The following are some of the reports:

• Roles of CM and DCM 1: Apart from his land portfolio, CM Lim Guan Eng will also head information, entrepreneur development and heritage. He is also taking over the Invest in Penang Berhad chairmanship. DCM 1 Mansor will handle cooperative and community relations and take over the industrial development and international trade portfolios previously headed by Lim. Read here 
• Arts moves to Wong: Previously held by Danny Law Heng Kiang, the arts portfolio will move to Wong Hon Wai who is also in charge of town and country planning and housing. Law retains his tourism and culture responsibilities. Read here 
• 18-metre limit for WHS stays: The MPPP has asked all developers to observe the 18-metre limit for all buildings in the George Town WHS (read here) and UNESCO has suggested that the federal government enact laws allowing it to veto major development plans in George Town and Melaka. Read here 
• PKR councilors boycott swearing-in: In protest against the appointment of a civil servant, not a politician, as head of the MPSP, eight of the nine PKR councilors boycotted the swearing-in of new council president Mokhtar Mohd Jait. The PKR whip in the council, Johari Kassim, said the state government had betrayed them and the post should have been allocated to the party. Read here CM Lim is however standing firm on the matter (read here) and asked the rebellious councilors to look at public interest. Read here. Meanwhile, the DAP is questioning Johari’s position in the MPSP. Read here
• Tan Cheng Chui appointed MPPP president: Tan's appointment is from June 1 for a two-year tenure. Read here 
• Integrity awards for reporting corruption: The state government will give RM10,000 rewards to civil servants who report corruption. Read here, here and here 
• Exco members to declare assets soon: The state exco members have agreed on a timeframe to declare their assets. Read here 

For more on GOVERNANCE, read here

• High noon at High Chaparral: Residents of Kampung Buah Pala, Gelugor, Penang's last Indian village in the urban area, have been given until June 11 to vacate their premises. Villagers are protesting against the eviction order. Read here
• Report on USM slip-up submitted: The Higher Education Ministry has submitted a report to the Cabinet after investigating a slip-up in which new students turned up at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for certain courses only to be turned away because their names were not on the course list. Read here
• Green Monday from next month: Monday has been declared a plastic-free day in Penang. This takes effect from July. Read here
• Penang Port calls off listing: PPSB has called off its listing exercise on the main board of Bursa Malaysia because its ferry service has been making losses. Read here. It also hopes to pass the ferry service to the federal government. Read here
• Gerakan’s Huan may join the PKR: Gerakan vice-president Huan Cheng Guan who disagreed with the party leadership on the appointment of constituency coordinators and voiced it publicly in the media may join PKR with some 1,000 members. Read here and here

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