GEORGE TOWN – The dire consequences of climate change and the pandemic means that Penang needs to formulate policies that not only creates sustainable jobs but also protects the environment, said two leading civil society personalities here.
The days of physical development and hoping that it would create multiplier effects as well as jobs are gone, said Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president Meenakshi Raman.
It is evident in the latest narratives of all United Nations agencies and other countries that have realised that a new normal has emerged from this pandemic.
"Mother Nature is striking back with a vengeance," she added.
What the state needs are balanced policies, catering to the needs of sustainability, while also trying to grow the economy on a more stable footing, said Meenakshi.
Speaking to The Vibes to mark the recent World Environment Day celebrations in Penang, Meenaskhi urged Penang to come up with policies that can cater to both needs – jobs and protecting the environment from further decay and abuse.
She concluded that Penang's present policies on development are both outdated and can bring irreversible damage to the sensitive ecology if left unattended.
The proposed Penang Southern Islands (PSI) reclamation scheme, which is designed to underwrite the mammoth transport masterplan where an LRT system besides five major highways are to be constructed, is an example of a counter-productive project.
"We cannot afford to have one project which endangers another. We cannot think about creating jobs while on another hand destroy the environment. We need policies that can work for both. Hence, the answer is more attention on a green and circular economy.
"We need the kind of projects which are visionary. Penang is now so old-school. The world is discussing sustainability and not about the traditional concept of creating jobs."
Meenaskhsi said that even the World Economic Forum is now championing sustainability.
"Penang also cannot be dependent on FDI. We need to diversify and find new areas of growth. Investors come and go as they aim to make money. When they leave, what happens?"
In the 1992 World Earth Summit in Rio (Brazil), the organisers had then declared a need for sustainability versus wanton development, but many governments ignored it.
"Today, we are suffering the consequences of such neglect with a pandemic in our background. We are now in a need of a reset and a rethink."
The previous rapid clearing of habitats has resulted in the emergence of zoonotic-driven viruses, which have gone on to trigger this pandemic and harm humans.
Penang should be going back to the basics of exploring the preservation of marine life and cultivating more farming produce to be less dependent on food imports, she added.
Economist Lim Mah Hui said that Penang has become obsessed with the traditional brick-and-mortar form of development.
The state should shift development onto the mainland and focus on conservation and preservation on the island, he said. – The Vibes, June 7, 2021
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