BALIK PULAU – Hundreds of inshore fishermen and civil society groups staged another protest against the proposed Penang South Island (PSI) mega reclamation project, despite Penang’s move to reduce the three islands involved to one.
Braving the heatwave, the crowd gathered at the Sg Batu fishermen association unit’s office and chanting “kami tak nak tambak” (we don’t want reclamation) repeatedly
Among those present to support the cause were Consumers’ Association of Penang president Mohideen Abdul Kader and Penang Forum members Khoo Salma Nasution, Zulfikar Abdul Aziz, and Teoh Seng Aun.
Penang PAS commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff was also spotted in the crowd.
The Pen Mutiara fishermen’s association representatives spoke at length in the protest, which lasted over two hours.
Penang Fishermen’s Association (Pen Mutiara) deputy chairman Zakaria Ismail said fishermen will continue to oppose the proposed reclamation as it would pollute the pristine fishing grounds in southern Penang.
“The area of Permatang Damar Laut to Teluk Kumbar has been fertile for marine catches, and our ancestors have been doing it for decades. We do not want their hard work to go to waste and we want to continue supplying quality seafood to the markets here.”
Zakaria said that with the global supply disruption of farming produce, it is imperative that fishermen be allowed to go out to sea unhindered by reclamation.
“It has been proven to lower our fish catches, so we are saying ‘no’ to reclamation,” he said.
Pen Mutiara chairman Ibrahim Che Ros said the PSI would destroy the soft undersea terrain, which makes it easier for fishermen to catch fish compared with other coastal areas.
This is why fishermen from neighbouring Kedah and Perak fish in the area, Ibrahim said.
He said that even if Penang scrapped the two islands, the remaining one – Silicon Island – would involve 920ha, half of the original total of 1,800 ha for all three.
“Just stop any form of reclamation. That is what we want,” he said.
Mohideen said that the majority of the civil society groups wanted a total stoppage of the light rail transit (LRT) project and PSI, saying both would erode the state’s ecology.
Recently, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said that the state has reached an agreement with PSI project delivery partner SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd to reduce the project outlay from three islands to one.
This follows Anwar’s announcement that the federal government will underwrite the costs of establishing an LRT link in Penang due to the worsening traffic congestion.
Chow also said that with the latest development, only 115 fishermen from the Permatang Tepi Laut fishing unit – facing the Silicon Island reclamation site – would be directly impacted compared with 496 fishermen previously. – The Vibes, May 14, 2023
