We won’t boycott over PSI project, says fishermen activist

INSHORE fishermen will not be instigated to a boycott despite the growing anger towards the state government for sanctioning the mega reclamation Penang Silicon Island (PSI) project off Batu Maung, said a fishermen activist.

Despite their repeated pleas for the PSI project to be called off in the name of conservation and preserving their huge fishing grounds here, the mega reclamation is now ongoing.

This has angered some fishermen until they are now seeking legal redress, said the Sg Batu Fishermen Unit head Zakaria Ismail.

“It is not politics but our livelihood,” he said. “We are aware of some suggestions to boycott our catches to disrupt the food chain supply here, but we cannot do it.

“Catching of fishes is our livelihood and we cannot compromise on it,” said Zakaria in an interview.

He said that in essence, there is also no need to boycott, as the fishing grounds off Batu Maung is now halved in size due to the reclamation work.

“From about 4,000 acres, we are now down to 2,000 acres and we need to share our zone for inshore fishing with the reclamation contractors and sand miners.”

Zakaria said that there is data to support his assertion that catches are down by 50% and with it, the price of seafood is expected to rise in Penang.

And despite the Lunar New Year period, the fishermen in southern Penang did not sell their catches because the catch volume was down significantly, he noted.

And with it, the beach erosion would also continue to take place, he added.

Zakaria has applied to the high court, together with six other Sg Batu fishermen and two nongovernmental organisations, for an injunction to suspend the project from proceeding following another review of PSI.

The fishermen, along with NGOs Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim (Jedi), want the project to be declared illegal in their affidavits to the court.

They also want Penang and project delivery partner SRS Consortium to restore the present reclamation work back to its original condition.

Work on the RM8.5 billion reclamation project began last September, with 920ha to be reclaimed for the creation of Silicon Island, which is promoted by the state government as another parcel for the expansion of the state’s booming electrical and electronics manufacturing sector.

The artificial island is expected to be fully reclaimed by 2032.

SAM’s honorary secretary S. Mageswari told a media briefing here that the high court in Penang has granted them leave to proceed with their judicial review application.

“We are also seeking to stay the planning permission granted to SRS and all other processes and reclamation works, pending the final disposal of the judicial review application and costs. The project has already impacted the fishermen.”

SAM president Meenaskhi Raman says that the entire project needs to be scrapped instead of scaling down to just one island.

Her views were echoed by Jedi adviser Khoo Salma Nasution. – The Vibes, February 22, 2024