Pen Mutiara to meet PM to discuss reclamation issues
SYAJARATULHUDA MOHAMAD ROSLI27 Nov 2022 01:50pm
The southern region of Penang is a bay area where many species of marine life breed.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to discuss the Penang South Reclamation Project (PSR) or now known as the Penang South Islands (PSI) project.
Its chairman, Ibrahim Che Ros, said he would send a letter to Anwar on Tuesday to request for a meeting.
According to him, the association hopes that Anwar will listen to the grievances of more than 6,000 fishermen in Penang who oppose the project.
"We will meet with Anwar as soon as possible and this Tuesday, a letter will be submitted to him."
We will bring this issue to Anwar and hope he hears our appeal for PSI to be abolished. We are confident that he will take this issue seriously as he has been here before to meet all the fishermen affected by the PSI project.
"Additionally, we are confident that he will look into our complaints because, besides Anwar, his daughter who is also the former MP for Permatang Pauh, Nurul Izzah Anwar has also been with us and is against this project," he said when contacted on Sunday.
The Penang government had previously planned to implement the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) which involves the development of LRT, monorail and three highway projects scheduled for completion in 2050.
To realise the PTMP, the Penang Government implemented the PSI involving the reclamation of about 1,821 hectares of land.
This land exchange agreement is to finance the proposed PTMP worth RM46 billion.
He said Pen Mutiara hoped that the newly formed government would abolish the PSI without conditions as required by the affected fishermen.
"He was with us during a meeting at the Sungai Batu Fishermen's Unit about three years ago. At the time, he said he would discuss and hear explanations from the state government regarding PSI.
"Anwar has also said he never knew of any large-scale reclamation projects around the world that guarantee the fate of fishermen. For that reason, we are confident he will review our appeal for the project to be aborted," he said.
However, he said, if the project continues, Pen Mutiara will appeal to the Appeal Board of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (AKAS 1974).
Apart from Anwar, former Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar Had also urged the Federal Government and the Penang Government to abort the PSI project immediately.
She described the project as having strayed from its original purpose, focusing more on the interests of an elite few as well as ignoring the sustainability of the environment and affecting the livelihoods of the fishermen.
Meanwhile, the Teluk Kumbar Fishermen's Unit head, Roslizan Ramli, said he hoped that all representatives of the people who campaigned in the area during the 15th General Election (GE15) would follow through on their promise to assist the fishing community for abolishment of PSI.
"I hope that the representatives of the people who campaigned during GE15 will fulfill their promise to us and urge for this project to be scrapped."
We also hope that the representatives expressed their support for us will also express their stance to Anwar, thus strengthening our cause ," he said.
Previously, PSI was opposed by more than 6,000 Penang fishermen as it would permanently damage the environment, especially in the southern region of Penang where the area contains a bay terrain, where a majority of fish breeding occurs.
If the project is implemented, it will cause the source of income for fishermen to be affected.
