No more discussion on compensation, fishermen tell Penang

GEORGE TOWN – The Penang Fishermen’s Association (Pen Mutiara) will not agree to any compensation offers proposed by the state government and developers of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

Pen Mutiara chairman Mahadi Md Rodzi said the decision has been conveyed to the state government and developer in a meeting at Komtar yesterday.

Mahadi said Pen Mutiara’s stand is to continue objecting to the PSR project, and it will wait for the Department of Environment's (DoE) appeal board to hear the case filed by the fishermen.

“We have challenged the approval of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report in July last year, and it is understood that the case hearing will be held.

“Therefore, our stand is that we will not discuss any compensation offers until the appeal board has heard our case,” he told The Vibes.

On July 29, the DoE received a notice of appeal from Zakaria Ismail, representing 185 Sg Batu fishermen, through a letter dated August 1, 2019.

The move is in line with Section 35 of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, which allows for any person aggrieved by any decision of the director-general under Sections (3) and (4) Section 34A (EIA Report) to appeal to the appeal board.

As a result, the project developer will not obtain an environmental management plan report and cannot start work on the site until approval has been given.

The environmental management plan is one of the main conditions to implementing any project.

On Sunday, The Vibes had reported Pen Mutiara as saying that the state government was proposing to pay compensation of about RM20,000 to each fisherman affected by the PSR project, set to be completed in 15 years.

Fishermen’s Task Force chairman and Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman said the compensation, however, had three packages, including cash donations or ex-gratia, boat and jetty assistance packages, education and housing.

The PSR project comprises the creation of a land bank as part of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) worth RM46 billion.

It involves an almost 17 sq km of sea embankment involving a development project of three artificial islands covering an area of ​​1,700ha off Permatang Damar Laut, near Bayan Lepas.

It is understood that the reclamation period is 15 years and the entire project is expected to be completed by around 50 years. – The Vibes, December 29, 2020