GEORGE TOWN – The compensation promised to Gertak Sanggul fishermen in March has yet to materialise despite them having agreed to the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.
Fearing repercussion, a fisherman, who requested anonymity, told The Vibes that a group of them visited the SRS Consortium office, but were told that the company did not receive any directive on the 75% compensation payment.
“We have been waiting for the payment since March, but (there has been) nothing. We believe in the project. In fact, we were the first people who signed the social impact management plan (SIMP) that ensures we receive the ex gratia payment in three stages.
“Now, we are still waiting, there is no news, and we can’t go to the office to ask for it because of the movement control order.”
The fishermen received their first payment of RM500 early in the year.
The one who spoke to The Vibes expressed hope that SRS Consortium will push the state government on the payout soon.
According to Farida-Hani M. Yacob, head of administration and integrity at Penang Infrastructure Corp (PIC), there is no delay as the ex gratia is to be disbursed in three stages, with the second payment subject to the environmental management plan (EMP) being approved.
“The earlier announced dates of disbursement for the second (March 2021) and third (January 2022) stages were estimated based on the expectation of getting EMP approval at the time of the announcement,” she told The Vibes.
SIMP states that fishermen in Permatang Damar Laut, Sg Batu, Teluk Kumbar and Gertak Sanggul would receive their first payment of RM500 each in February.
Subject to EMP approval, 75% of the payment, totalling RM14,500, was supposed to be released in March, and another 25%, totalling RM5,000, in January next year.
However, Environment Department (DoE) director-general Norlin Jaafar last week said it has yet to receive the project’s EMP based on the original order.
She told the press that SRS Consortium, a PIC partner, has submitted an EMP report to the Penang DoE, but it did not follow the original order of reclamation as contained in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report approved on June 25, 2019.
In response, PIC chief executive Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said a new EMP for PSR will be submitted by early June.
He admitted that there was an error, as the original EMP was given to the federal DoE in January but it did not withdraw an application to submit a new one.
Farizan said he was wrong to propose the project’s start date before the EMP is approved. – The Vibes, May 26, 2021
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