GEORGE TOWN – A revised Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Penang South Islands (PSI) project will be submitted by the state government to the Environment Department (DoE) in June.
Penang Infrastructure and Transport Committee Chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the state had delivered the original EMP to DoE on January 6.
He said having not received any response from the DoE, the application was withdrawn on May 7 for further fine-tuning.
“This is to ensure compliance with the proposed mitigation measures and environmental offset programmes of the PSI.
“This was why DoE’s statement on May 20 said the EMP had not been submitted yet,” he said in a statement.
He said the state is fully committed to ensuring PSI is designed to comply with environmental, social and governance standards that are required by leading global multinational corporations, hence, making PSI a green and sustainable development that will attract foreign and domestic investment to generate jobs and inject capital into Penang’s economy.
Zairil said that the project is necessary as a recovery driver to reboot the state’s economy, especially in the post-Covid-19 environment.
Prior to this, DoE director-general Norlin Jaafar was reported to have said that the department had not received the EMP based on the original order, in line with the concept of the project.
Norlin issued a statement in response to a report by a local English daily, titled “Project to create 15,000 jobs”, on Monday, which claimed that Penang is now just waiting for DoE’s approval to begin reclamation work.
The report quoted Penang Infrastructure Corp Sdn Bhd (PIC) chief executive Datuk Seri Farizan Darus as saying that the company is now waiting for DoE to give the go-ahead on the EMP, which is expected to be issued at the end of this month before PIC can implement the project in accordance with the approved guidelines.
Hence, Zairil explained that the engagement between the state government and DoE is a professional matter and not a political issue.
“Gerakan’s attempt to politicise the discussion reveals its desperation amid the clear failings of the federal government to control the pandemic and vaccinate the population,” he said.
Zairil was referring to Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong’s claim that the state had lied about submitting an EMP for the reclamation work.
Zairil said Oh’s statement was a desperate attempt to politicise the reclamation project and to divert attention from Perikatan Nasional’s failures in managing the Covid-19 crisis. – The Vibes, May 24, 2021
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