Masyarakat nelayan tetap dengan pendirian membantah Penang South Reclamation (Malay/English)

[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang mengambil perhatian serius mengenai berita yang dikeluarkan oleh akhbar Buletin Mutiara pada tarikh 2 September 2020 yang bertajuk “PSR compensation to be discussed this Friday”.

Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang ingin menegaskan bahawa prinsip masyarakat nelayan tetap tidak berubah dan menolak projek tambakan mega Penang South Reclamation (PSR) walaupun pihak kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang kerap kali mengeluarkan kenyataan yang mengelirukan seperti menyatakan masyarakat nelayan menerima projek tambakan tersebut.

Pihak kami ingin menegaskan sekali lagi bahawa kenyataan yang menyatakan bahawa masyarakat nelayan menyokong projek tersebut adalah tidak benar dan mengelirukan masyarakat.

Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang ingin menyoal mengapa ketua pegawai eksekutif Penang Infrastructure Corporation Sdn Bhd (PICSB) Farizan Idrus mengeluarkan kenyataan sebelum ini dan mengatakan bahawa masyarakat nelayan lebih senang menerima projek PSR selepas memahami projek tersebut.

Pihak kami ingin memberi penegasan bahawa masyarakat nelayan tetap membantah projek tersebut kerana kami memahami segala impak negatif yang datang daripada projek mega tersebut dan kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh ketua pegawai eksekutif PICSB bahawa masyarakat nelayan menerima projek tersebut adalah salah sama sekali.

PICSB ditubuhkan pada 9 Julai tahun ini. Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang telah membantah projek ini sejak daripada 2015 lagi.

Mengenai isu pampasan pula, pihak Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang juga ingin menyatakan bahawa bengkel yang dijalankan pada 4 September 2020 untuk membincangkan mengenai pampasan nelayan juga merupakan suatu perbincangan yang tidak adil kepada masyarakat nelayan kerana tidak melibatkan pemimpin nelayan dan ketua unit bahagian iaitu sebagai pemegang taruh utama kepada projek tersebut.

Masyarakat nelayan merupakan masyarakat yang bakal terkesan secara terus kepada projek tersebut tetapi mesyuarat yang dijalankan hanya melibatkan agensi kerajaan sahaja dan menyisihkan persatuan nelayan.

Tidak ada seorang pemimpin nelayan pun yang dijemput hadir pada mesyuarat 4 September untuk membincangkan mengenai masa depan nelayan itu sendiri. Tindakan ini seumpama menidakkan kewujudan Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang yang ditubuhkan dibawah Akta Persatuan Nelayan 1971.

Pihak persatuan nelayan ingin memberi maklum bahawa, segala perbincangan ataupun urusan mengenai pampasan perlulah melalui peguam kami yang telah dilantik oleh Pihak Persatuan Nelayan

Pulau Pinang secara sah, dan pihak kami memohon kepada Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (LKIM) untuk menyediakan pegawai khidmat undang-undang kepada pihak Pen Mutiara.

Segala cadangan ataupun perbincangan mengenai pampasan perlulah melibatkan pihak Pen Mutiara melalui peguam kami dan bukannya datang daripada taskforce ataupun syarikat PICSB melalui bengkel ataupun mesyuarat yang dijalankan.

Pihak kami rasa kurang yakin kepada pihak kerajaan negeri dalam menguruskan isu pampasan kami dengan mengambil contoh nelayan Tanjung Tokong yang hanya dibayar RM15,000 dan masih belum selesai sehingga hari ini.

Nelayan di Tanjung Tokong masih menderita sehingga ke hari ini, dan jika kerajaan negeri masih gagal menguruskan nelayan di Tanjung Tokong, bagaimana mereka mampu hendak menguruskan pampasan masyarakat nelayan di selatan Pulau Pinang.

Pada hakikatnya, masyarakat nelayan tetap dengan pendirian membantah projek ini.

Mahadi Md Rodzi ialah pengerusi Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang

English version

Fisherfolk reiterate their rejection of Penang’s three-island mega-project

The Penang Fishermen’s Association views with great concern the news released by the Buletin Mutiara newspaper on 2 September 2020 entitled “PSR compensation to be discussed this Friday“.

The Penang Fishermen’s Association would like to emphasise that the principles of the fishing community remain unchanged. We reject the mega reclamation project (Penang South Reclamation) even though the Penang state government has repeatedly issued potentially misleading statements such as saying the fishing community accepts the reclamation project.

We would like to reiterate that this statement, that the fishing community supports the project, is untrue and therefore misleading to the community.

The Penang Fishermen’s Association would like to question why Penang Insfrastructure Corporation Sdn Bhd (PICSB) chief executive Farizan Idrus issued a statement earlier and said that the fishing community is more receptive to the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project after understanding the project.

We would like to emphasise that the fishing community still opposes the project because we understand all the negative impacts that come from the mega project.

The statement issued by the PICSB CEO that the fishing community accepted the project is completely wrong. PICSB was established on 9 July this year, but the Penang Fishermen’s Association has objected to this project since 2015.

On the issue of compensation, the Penang Fishermen’s Association would also like to state that the workshop held on 4 September 2020 to discuss fishermen’s compensation is also an unfair and lopsided discussion on the fishing community because it does not involve the Penang Fishermen’s Association as a stakeholder of the project.

The fishing community is a community that will be directly affected by the project, but the meetings held only involve government agencies and exclude the Penang Fishermen’s Association.

Not a single fisherman leader was invited to the 4 September meeting to discuss the future of the fishermen themselves; this action is like denying the existence of the Penang Fishermen’s Association established under the Fishermen’s Association Act 1971.

The Fishermen’s Association would like to state that all discussions or matters relating to compensation must be made through our lawyer, who has been legally appointed by the Penang Fishermen’s Association, and we apply to the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) to provide legal services officers to the fishermen’s association.

All suggestions or discussions on compensation should involve the Penang Fishermen’s Association through our lawyers and not come from the taskforce or PICSB company through workshops or meetings.

We are not confident about the state government managing our compensation issues, when we look at the example of the Tanjung Tokong fishermen who were only paid RM15,000, and the issue is still unresolved until today.

Fishermen in Tanjung Tokong are still suffering to this day and if the state government still fails to ensure the wellbeing of fishermen in Tanjung Tokong, how can they competently manage the issue of compensation for the fishing community in southern Penang?

The fact is, the fisherfolk community reiterates its stand in rejecting this project.

Mahadi Md Rodzi is the chair of the Penang Fishermen’s Association

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

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