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Support call for Penang reclamation project to be cancelled

  • Publication Date | June 2, 2021
  • Document Type | Letter to the Editor
  • Programmes | Development & Planning
  • Issues | Biodiversity, Coastal Development, Coastal Ecosystem, Conservation, Reclamation, Urban Development
  • Tags | Covid-19, DoE, EIA, Environmental Quality Act 1974, Penang, Penang South Reclamation, UNCTAD, World Environment Day, World Oceans Day
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Aerial view of the affected area for the proposed PSR project | Andrew Han

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) support the call by Nurul Izzah Anwar, the Permatang Pauh member of parliament, for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project to be cancelled.

We also wish to respond to the comments by Zairil Khir Johari, the Penang State Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman yesterday, who among other things, claimed that the project has been identified by the state as a “key recovery driver of the state”.

Zairil relies on a what he says is an “independent study” prepared by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) based on Penang’s previous industrialisation trajectory that “would bring in RM70 billion of FDI (foreign direct investments) and create more than 300,000 jobs over a 30-year timeframe.”

We have not seen this study and have therefore no way of verifying when it was done – i.e. whether before the country and the world have been engulfed in the raging COVID-19 pandemic with significant consequences for all economies. Neither are we privy to the assumptions contained in the study to accept its’ claims. 

Further, the PwC study was not previously cited as the basis for the PSR project but appears now as an afterthought, following strong opposition to the project from NGOs and others, based on sound scientific and socio-economic grounds. 

Moreover, according to a recent report by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released last year, “The economic fallout from the COVID-19 shock is ongoing and increasingly difficult to predict but there are clear indications that things will get much worse for developing economies before they get better.”  So, there are grave uncertainties on the economic front and claims of FDIs flowing in will need to be interrogated further.

In any case, the root of the issue really is this – why reclaim 4,500 acres of land in what are environmentally sensitive areas?  The fact that the project site affects environmentally sensitive areas is not disputed.

The reclamation of the 3 islands will involve the dumping of about 190 million cubic meters of fill material comprised of sand and rock into our ocean. This does not take into account the vast scale of material that will need to be sourced from outside this area, and what impacts that involves. 

This amounts to the size of 76,000 Olympic size swimming pools being built in the sea. Because the reclamation is happening underwater, the immensity of the scale and the likely damage this results in goes unnoticed and is invisible. Imagine if this was on land!

Even the Department of Environment (DOE) when approving the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project, acknowledged that there will be permanent negative impacts which are significant for fishery resources, the fishermen and for the nation’s food security. 

This approval by the DOE Director-General (DG) is being challenged by a group of fishermen who will be adversely affected by the project through a legal process allowed under the Environmental Quality Act, ’74 and is pending hearing which will take place middle of next month. The fishermen’s appeal provides an opportunity to fundamentally review the DG’s approval of the EIA as to its soundness.  

All the claims of the environmental soundness of this project by the Penang state including as to the mitigation and offset measures to be undertaken are being legally challenged and is the subject of major dispute.

The fact of this appeal is being ignored by the Penang state government, who intend to proceed with the project anyway without awaiting its outcome, contrary to good governance and respect for the rule of law. 

So, back to the root of the controversy – why sacrifice prime environmentally sensitive areas when the state can carry out its intended development on the mainland of Penang, in Seberang Perai, if indeed this is necessary.

The issue is not an ‘either or’ dilemma, i.e. development versus the preservation of environmentally sensitive areas. We can have both if only the state is willing to consider alternative opportunities on the mainland. 

Zairil refers to his fear of Penangites wanting “to leave for greener pastures elsewhere” if not for the project. That need not be the case, if the Penang state government is serious about the creation of genuinely sustainable jobs, including in Seberang Perai, without sacrificing what is green in the state. 

In fact, given the pandemic and the impact it has had on the economy and jobs, there is much anecdotal evidence that many in this country, especially in the lower income category are returning to the sea and to land to fish or farm, to feed their families and to also earn a living.

Surely we must preserve our rich biodiversity resources that exist in our oceans more than ever, instead of sacrificing them for some illusory gain in the future!

What we fear most is that given the state government’s current plans and trajectory, there will be nothing green left in Penang, as we will lose our precious ecosystems. 

It is World Environment Day on June 5 and World Oceans Day on June 8. 

For the sake of our environment and oceans, we reiterate our support for Nurul Izzah’s call for the massive reclamation project to be cancelled in view of the immediate pressing needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in an effort to preserve Penang’s valuable fishing grounds, the livelihood of fishermen and overall food security of the nation.

Mohideen Abdul Kader
President
Consumers Association of Penang

Meena Raman
President
Sahabat Alam Malaysia

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Testimonials

Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah satu badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang telah sekian lama berjuang mempertahan kelestarian alam. Ia juga mendidik masyarakat tentang pentingnya kebersamaan dalam pemikiran dan tindakan agar alam ini dapat kita wariskan kepada generasi hadapan dalam keadaan yang elok dan terpelihara. Dalam pada itu juga SAM giat membantu golongan nelayan pantai dalam memperjuangkan hak-hak mereka sehinggalah tertubuhnya Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING). Nelayan pantai sepenuh masa ini dididik oleh SAM sehingga mereka mampu memainkan peranan sebagai pemimpin nelayan yang meneruskan kesinambungan memperjuangkan hak-hak nelayan pantai lainnya. Sebagai contoh SAM telah berjaya menyedarkan masyarakat nelayan keperluan menjaga hutan paya bakau untuk kebaikan hasil tangkapan nelayan itu sendiri.
Jamaluddin Mohamad Bualik
Jamaluddin Mohamad BualikPersatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Jaringan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING)
During the 1980s, I used to read about the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) in the news. After retirement, some time in 2001, while lazing around, I read news about the construction of a carbon in leach plant using sodium cyanide to extract gold in Bukit Koman. My friends and I visited CAP and we were introduced to SAM and her legal team. We discussed the details of filing a case against the gold mining company and the department of environment with Ms Meenakshi Raman and her legal team. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between lawyers from SAM and many of us from Bukit Koman. We had many ups and downs in our struggle to shut down the gold mine that was causing a nuisance in our village. But, as a community we never gave up because SAM had our backs.
Hue Fui How
Hue Fui HowSecretary, Bukit Koman Ban Cyanide in Goldmining Action Committee (BCAC)
Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah sebuah NGO yang memperjuangkan nasib masyarakat luar bandar khasnya. SAM menerima aduan-aduan masyarakat dan menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi. SAM telah mewujudkan ramai aktivis-aktivis sosial dan alam sekitar. Pada era 1980 dan 90an SAM sangat dihormati oleh masyarakat dan agensi kerajaan. Apabila media sosial menguasai maklumat maka SAM pun terkesan dan masalah masyarakat terus disalurkan dengan pelbagai cara. SAM perlu mewujudkan aktivis-aktivis pelapis yang muda untuk terus membantu masyarakat. SAM juga perlu membuat perubahan supaya banyak turun kelapangan dan jangan mengharapkan laporan media sahaja. Tingkatkan prestasi sebagaimana pada zaman kegemilangan SAM di era 80-90an.
Che Ani Mt Zain
Che Ani Mt Zain
SAM taught me the importance of social activism and the role it plays in upholding the rights of people and the protection of the environment. In my experience, SAM has never hesitated to speak up in defence of people and their environment, and has gone the extra mile to champion their rights, by helping communities take their battles to the higher ups and even to the courts.
Jessica Binwani
Jessica BinwaniPublic/Private Interest Lawyer
Semenjak kami kenal SAM, banyak pengalaman dan pengetahuan yg kami dapat. Kami telah belajar cara membuat baja asli daripada SAM. Semenjak itu, bermulalah minat kami dalam aktiviti pertanian. Dengan memperolehi kemahiran dalam membuat baja asli dan penanaman lestari, kami juga telah dapat menambahkan pendapatan sampingan kami. Ini lebih baik daripada tanah kami terbiar dan tidak diusahakan. Terima kasih SAM kerana sudi memberi bantuan dan tunjuk ajar kepada Persatuan kami.
Chedo Anak Nyuwen
Chedo Anak NyuwenPersatuan Penduduk Sg Buri, Bakong, Marudi
My journey with SAM started when her community organisers took me to the meet the paddy farmers of Kedah, connecting my growing interest in environmental law with our people who struggle to work the land in the face of pollution, replacement of traditional seeds with commercial hybrids and their accompanying chemical package of fertilisers and weedicides. I then had the honour to work with SAM in the struggle for the rights of the native communities of Sarawak, in defence of their forests from massive logging and destructive mega-projects. In every issue that SAM takes up, she combines rigorous research with the realities and voices of the communities to advocate for policies and laws that care for people and nature. From the courts to the elected legislators to policy makers and implementers and to the United Nations, SAM walks side by side with the communities in Malaysia. How can I not be inspired by the vision and passion of the generations of women and men who coalesce to form SAM?
Chee Yoke Ling
Chee Yoke Lingstudent of SAM, Executive Director of Third World Network, SAM’s sister organisation

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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Headquarters)
No. 1, Jalan Joki, 11400 Penang,
Malaysia
Tel: +604 827 6930
Fax: +604 827 6932

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Marudi Office)
129A, First Floor,
Jalan Tuanku Taha,
P.O.Box 216,
98058 Marudi, Baram, Sarawak,
Malaysia
Tel & Fax: +6085 758 973

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