By Mohideen Abdul Kader, Meenakshi Raman and Khoo Salma
We refer to the media statement by Gamuda issued on 16 May 2023. Gamuda’s defence of its mega-reclamation project off southen Penang Island is self-serving and unsustainable.
It has a vested interest in the mega-reclamation project, expecting to make millions, perhaps billions, of profit. Therefore, its claims of the project benefiting the public must be taken with a pinch of salt.
The Penang state government appointed Halcrow, the transport consultants with vast experience, to prepare a transport blueprint for Penang. After public consultation, it came up with a Penang transport masterplan based on sustainable mobility – moving people rather than cars – costing RM10bn spread over a period of time. The state government wanted additional highways and a tunnel and the cost shot up to RM27bn.
The Gamuda-led SRS Consortium of engineering contractors and developers were appointed to implement the Halcrow plan.
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But SRS radically departed from the Halcrow plan and ditched the recommended bus rapid transit and trams for a monorail, “LRT” [overhead “light rail transit”] and additional highways.
SRS also proposed mega-reclamation to finance its proposal through the sale of plots of reclaimed land. The estimated cost zoomed further from RM27bn to RM46bn.
Under the agreement with the state, SRS was to receive 6% of the total cost, which is RM2.8bn.
Later, in 2021 the Penang government entered into an agreement with SRS to form a joint-venture company, with the state holding 30% equity and SRS 70%, to carry out reclamation work under phase one of the mega-reclamation.
Now that the federal government has agreed to finance [the LRT component of the] SRS transport proposal to overcome traffic congestion, why is Gamuda pressing for the reclamation project? Do we need it and how will it benefit the people?
Gamuda claims the latest environmental impact assessment went through a rigorous process and should be accepted and that those disagreeing with it should go to court to challenge it.
This is a red herring.
First, before any project is approved there must be a need for it in the public interest. Despite repeated demands by civil society organisations, the state government has failed to justify the reclamation. Initially it claimed it was needed to finance the SRS transport proposal. That reason doesn’t exist anymore with the “unity government” in power. If land is needed for development, there are 12,000 hectares available in Seberang Perai on mainland Penang.
Secondly, the environmental impact assessment is flawed. It did not take into sufficient consideration the fact that the project will result in the destruction of an important fisheries area in Penang which provides incomes for over 3,000 people and their families, and food – fish, prawns, crabs and other marine life – for consumers.
In a letter on 25 June 2019, the former Department of Environment director general advised the state government that this mega-reclamation project will “cause permanent and residual impacts on mudflat ecosystems, fishing grounds, turtle landing areas, and some coral reefs in Pulau Rimau. This permanent destruction will have a significant negative impact on fisheries resources, fisheries and the security of national food supply.”
Despite this warning, the environmental impact assessment for the reclamation project was approved. That speaks volumes for the independence and objectivity of the assessment process.
Gamuda claims that over 93% of public comments on the environmental impact assessment favoured the reclamation project.
This is not a popularity contest. Those who approved the environmental impact report should have scrutinised the grounds given by informed and knowledgeable civil society groups and individuals for objecting to the project and [they should have] given reasons why these objections were not accepted. They have not done so.
In addition, the company’s claims that “the PSI project has secured a high Social Impact Assessment approval rating of 79.1% from the local community, and more specifically, the support of 74.8% of the local fishermen” was challenged during the environmental impact assessment feedback process as being exaggerated and misleading, and without proper basis. We pointed out that the sample size was way too small for such conclusions.
All this was ignored, including opposition to the project by the state fisherfolks’ association, Pen-Mutiara, which represents 6,000 members.
In fact, we were shocked at the so-called “economic valuation of the environmental impacts”, which we have pointed out, is a gross economic undervaluation. For example, the latest approved environmental impact assessment quotes the price of shrimps as RM6,000 per ton in 2022, which works out to RM6 per kilogram!
This is indeed unbelievable, for anyone who buys shrimps will tell you that the price is at least 10 times higher than what is stated in the impact assessment. Yet, such a gross undervaluation was allowed in the assessment!
As regards the “ecology offset masterplan”, Gamuda claims the programme is designed to enhance marine biodiversity in the project vicinity.
But from what we have read, these are experiments which are being proposed to recreate what will be lost irreplaceably forever, like the mudflats, coral reefs and fishing grounds, which are classified as “trade-offs”, when in reality, what is being done is to write them off in perpetuity.
Destroying such natural and important ecosystems and replacing them with fake speculative options with the hope of enhancing marine biodiversity is highly irresponsible and unacceptable to us. This is not development but destruction!
We continue to maintain that the “PSI” [“Penang South Island”] mega-reclamation project is unjustifiable. We stand firm in our opposition to the unwarranted PSI, and once again reiterate our call and appeal to the federal and state government to SCRAP THE PSI PROJECT.
We do not need a Fantasy Island!
Mohideen Abdul Kader is president of the Consumers’ Association of Penang, Meenakshi Raman is president of Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Khoo Salma is from Penang Forum
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