GEORGE TOWN – The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) have thrown their support behind Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar’s call for the Penang South Islands (PSI) project, formerly known as the Penang South Reclamation project to be canceled.
In a joint statement, the respective presidents of the two NGOs, Mohideen Abdul Kader and Meenakshi Raman also took state Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari to task for making assertions to support the billion ringgit project based on an independent study
Zairil had yesterday claimed that the PSI would create more than 300,000 jobs in 30 years, citing a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
However, CAP and SAM insisted that such facts were not really clear.
“We have not seen this study and have therefore no way of verifying when it was done – whether before the country and the world have been engulfed in the raging Covid-19 pandemic with significant consequences for all economies.
“Further, the PwC study was not previously cited as the basis for the PSi 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”.
Mohideen and Meenakshi said the main question of the issue is why the state government chose to reclaim the roughly 1,821ha of land in an environmentally sensitive area.
They said that the reclamation for the three islands would involve a pile of about 190 million cubic meters of filling material consisting of sand and rocks into the sea.
“This does not take into account the material on a large scale that needs to be taken from outside the area and what the impact will be.
“This amount is equivalent to the size of 76,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools built at sea. Because this redemption takes place underwater, the result of this large scale damage goes unnoticed and cannot be seen. Imagine if this was on the ground!”
Mohideen and Meenakshi said the current issue is not a zero-sum game. Penang can actually have both if only the state is willing to consider alternative opportunities on the mainland.
Referring to Zairil’s concern that Penang residents “will leave the island to find better opportunities elsewhere” if the PSI is not developed, Mohideen and Meenakshi refuted that this would happen.
They said that if the state government is serious about creating real sustainable jobs, including in Seberang Prai, it can do these without sacrificing the greenery in the state.
“What worries us the most is that based on the current plans and the trajectory of the state government, there is nothing green left in Penang, as we will lose our precious ecosystem,” they said.
Zairil in his statement yesterday insisted that the PSI needs to continue for the future of Penangites. In fact, he said, the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic has made PSI more important to implement.
Referring to Nurul Izzah’s concern about the livelihood of fishermen being affected by the reclamation, Zairil said that the state government has already prepared a large-scale ex-gratia package which is described as one of the most lucrative in Malaysia.
Nurul Izzah had also explained that the state and the people of Penang should not be burdened with a project fraught with debt, risks, uncertainties, and U-turns.
“As it stands, the entire PSI project will be funded and managed by a 70-30 joint venture between SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd and the Penang government – it is now a privately-led mega project, lacking clarity on the various aspects of the mammoth project,” she had said. – The Vibes, June 2, 2021
