PENANG'S efforts on land reclamation hit a stumbling block when the Department of Environment (DoE) rejected an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to reconfigure the now-closed Jelutong landfill by extending the shoreline near the Karpal Singh Drive locality.
The department’s EIA portal, which provides updates to EIA applications, had apparently classified the project as “not approved”.
Residents, who are protesting the project under the "Project Karpal Singh Drive" movement, have praised the decision, along with a string of civil society organisations that have come to support the residents' action committee over the contentious issue.
The residents had also received tacit support from Jelutong MP RSN Rayer, who has asked for an EIA report to be re-examined before he makes a firm stand.
The residents took to social media to lobby Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow outright to scrap the proposed rehabilitation of the landfill via reclamation.
The RM1 billion reclamation plan involves excavating and rehabilitating the landfill, as well as reclaiming adjacent coastal land north of the Penang Bridge to store the unearthed rubbish from the landfill temporarily. After this, a mixed development project will be carried out on the reclaimed land.
The 65-hectare site is slated to have 36 hectares of landfill and another 29 hectares of new land adjacent to the waterfront stretch in the area.
The Penang Development Corporation (PDC) signed a deal with PLB Engineering Bhd in 2020 to undertake the project, which was expected to take four to five years, to restore the prime land status of the landfill area near Jelutong.
Former Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun also voiced support for the residents, citing whether the company slated to conduct the work has the capital and technical expertise to carry out the complicated process.
The project drew protests because some quarters alleged that reclaiming land next to the landfill could affect public health and harm the nearby Middle Bank marine ecosystem, which many marine biologists want protected.
The small, man-made island has become a marine habitat known for its seagrass and sea life, and is regarded by environmental groups as an important natural habitat.
Penang is a state with the largest number of EIA applications submitted, namely to reclaim the island and the Prai mainland due to an acute shortage of landbank. - March 10, 2026.
