Nation

Is land reclamation still the way to go for Penang's future growth?

PENANG'S role in social activism received a shot in the arm today when the Appeal Board under the Environmental Quality (Appeal Board) Regulations 2003, set aside the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

This translates to the Appeal Board allowing the preliminary objections submitted by fisherman Zakaria Ismail against the approval of the PSR EIA.

Of great interest and concern is the fact that in allowing the objection, the approval by the Department of Environment (DoE) director-general (DG) on the PSR EIA was also set aside as it was reportedly ultra vires, null and void.

On an island known for its spirit of social activism for decades, this victory claimed by a group of local fishermen today had already been gaining traction in the eyes of the local and global media.

Zakaria, who is the Sungai Batu fishermen unit leader, was representing 185 fishermen in appealing against the approval of the PSR EIA.

In his appeal, he stated that the approval by the DoE DG dated June 15 in 2019 for the EIA of the 1,821ha reclamation project, was not in accordance with the development plan or physical plan approved by the relevant approving authority.

The board agreed with his objections by stating that the EIA report was approved based on a draft structure plan that was not approved by the state authority yet.

By way of background, the PSR is a mammoth reclamation project aimed at creating three islands off the southern coast of Penang.

The islands, loosely named A, B and C, will measure a total 1,821ha in land size off the coast of Permatang Damar Laut.

The PSR project was first introduced back in 2015 as the funding module of the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) after SRS Consortium was appointed as the project delivery partner (PDP) for the PTMP on August 14, 2015.

With this current "setback" to the project, it may be timely for a reset of sorts to the entire scheme which was poised to take off at a time when the world is fighting a pandemic which has not only claimed precious lives and jobs and the way people work, but also the manner in which companies and people map out their priorities.

Apart from treading very carefully since public trust is very fragile currently, the project's developers are also likely to have their hands full in dealing with fund managers and other stakeholders who are likely to be full of questions in the ensuing days and months.

Is this a good time to revisit the entire development plan which is touted to meet increasing land demand for Penang's industrial, commercial and housing developments?

Is land reclamation still the way to go for the island state's future growth where many jobs have morphed into work-from-home ones, property prices are spiralling downwards in some locations and the demand for new developments no longer there?

Is the Penang of the future going to be one which will continue to be a magnet for companies to channel capital investments and reinvestments into existing facilities or to purchase more land to expand?

As projects the world over are being re-evaluated owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and other fiscal reasons, so must the Penang South Reclamation.

Yes, the creation of supposedly over 300,000 jobs over 30 years are welcome at this uncertain time and the market impact to the cancellation of such a project would not be without major repercussions.

But building three artificial islands from scratch off Penang island is no light matter.

And touting the project as the main economic driver for Penang's post-coronavirus recovery, may be a bit of a stretch, even if it is supposed to reduce brain drain and spell better economic days for Penang.

At a time when the rest of the world is paying even more heed to climate change, it may be timely for Malaysia and Penang to do likewise and consider the impending devastation that dredging and sand mining work (which will span over two decades or potentially longer), will have on the undersea habitat, hindrance of fish migration and the food chain supply structure.

Zakaria Ismail and civil society in Penang may be rejoicing today with their success in getting the "pause button" pressed for this project.

Whether the project proceeds at all in its original format or is taken back to the drawing board, the opportunity to relook the entire development should not be missed by looking at the bigger picture and not falling into past traps of turning massive projects into political pawns.

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