GEORGE TOWN: The proposed Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, which will see the creation of three manmade islands measuring some 1,700ha, will “kill off” all inshore fishermen along the coast of Penang.
Bakri Bakar, 53, a fisherman from Teluk Kumbar with more than 35 years of experience, said thousands of fishermen like him would be severely impacted by the project.
Bakri said they were totally opposed to the project and asked why should it be carried out at the expense of fishermen who were already living a hard life.
“Generations of fishermen depended on the sea for their income, and now, they are going to take away our livelihood.
“No amount of compensation is enough. The only conclusion is to scrap the reclamation project once and for all,” he said at the Teluk Kumbar fishing village here today.
The fisherfolk there, together with the Malaysian Inshore Fishermen Association for Education and Welfare, were holding a peaceful demonstration against the proposed PSR proejct by the coast off Teluk Kumbar.
Bakri showed newsmen a two-week notice that they had received earlier today from the southwest District and Land Office to demolish and empty all structures built on government land.
Admitting that the 200 or so structures were built without approval, Bakri said they were built by the fishermen as places to rest and, more importantly, to store their belongings.
“Now, we are given two weeks to demolish all these structures or risk enforcement action.
“Look at what we have been reduced to.”
Another fisherman, Mohd Sabri Yusof, 64, said they were never consulted and had had never agreed to the compensation offered.
“Who agreed to the compensation? You can go and check for yourselves.
“No one came to meet us. They only called in their cronies, a few fishermen, and some of them were not even fishermen, to talk and discuss,” he claimed, adding that the authorities should talk to all the affected fishermen, not just a handful of representatives.
The fishermen present today also cast doubt on claims made by the authorities that the majority of them supported the project.
The group’s spokesman, Faizal Zabri, 36, a fisherman from Teluk Bahang, claimed that the state government and the PSR project delivery partner had never consulted them.
They also claimed that ideas put forth by several fishermen’s associations to transform the fisherfolk also did not take into account the views of all the fishermen.
“I can tell you some 90 per cent of fishermen oppose the reclamation,” he added.
The PSR project is meant to fund the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and create additional landbank for the state.
Both PSR and PTMP are still at the planning stage, pending approval.