The Protect Karpal Singh Drive action committee (ProtectKarpal) takes serious note of the chief minister’s recent remarks indicating that the Jelutong landfill project could still move forward in a “scaled-down” form or under “another concept”.
His remarks were made despite the Department of Environment (DoE) rejecting the project’s environmental impact assessment for the fourth consecutive time.
We commend the DoE for upholding environmental integrity. As Jelutong MP RSN Rayer has rightfully pointed out, four rejections constitute a severe red flag that cannot be ignored.
In light of the state government’s indication that it may attempt to salvage the project, ProtectKarpal states our position unequivocally:
No repackaging: A rejected reclamation plan cannot be revived through rebranding. A fundamentally flawed reclamation plan cannot be cured by a new label, a smaller footprint or a repackaged concept.
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN), Maybank a/c 507246118995 or CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a pledge or schedule an auto donation to Aliran every month or every quarter
- Become an Aliran member
The core issue has never been about the project’s branding; it is about the irreversible ecological devastation to the Middle Bank marine ecosystem and the severe public health risks of unearthing decades-old toxic waste to reclaim sea area.
Reducing the size of the reclamation does not remove the hazard; it merely scales the devastation. Rebranding does not change the reality. We firmly reject any incremental approach to coastal reclamation.
Publish the DoE’s rejection letter in full: The chief minister reportedly stated that the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) must study the DoE’s letter in full before making recommendations to the state.
ProtectKarpal questions why the PDC has been tasked with studying the DoE’s rejection letter and recommending the next course of action, when the PDC is itself the project manager and an institutional stakeholder in the project. A party that is directly tied to the project’s implementation cannot be treated as a neutral interpreter of the rejection.
Any review of the DoE’s findings must not be confined to the PDC alone, but must include full public disclosure, independent expert scrutiny and the formal participation of affected residents.
Therefore, if public resources are being used to review this failure, then the public must be granted immediate and unredacted access to understand the scientific basis of the rejection.
ProtectKarpal demands the immediate publication of the DoE’s rejection letter based on three unassailable principles:
- Public accountability: Residents and civil society have a democratic right to know why a project of this magnitude failed four times. Environmental governance cannot operate on hints, fragmented disclosures or selective executive summaries.
- Policy integrity: If the state is actively considering a “scaled-down” version, the public must know exactly what structural deficiencies and environmental hazards the DoE identified. Without this baseline data, there is no way to verify if the state is genuinely mitigating risks or merely looking for administrative loopholes to bypass the regulator.
- Restoration of trust: After years of controversy and repeated public assurances that the project would not proceed without EIA approval, transparency is the absolute minimum condition for credibility. The public cannot be coerced into accepting a reformulated proposal while the empirical grounds for the original rejection remain concealed.
Participatory governance
Aligned with the “Madani” (trustworthy and sustainable) government’s commitment to a democratic, inclusive and transparent approach, the traditional model of top-down policymaking is no longer acceptable.
Therefore, ProtectKarpal demands that any future plans regarding the Jelutong Landfill must transition from mere “public consultation” to active participatory decision-making.
We demand that a formally constituted joint task force – comprising state government and Penang Island City Council representatives, independent environmental and public health experts from local academic institutions, civil society groups and community representatives, including the Bandar Sri Pinang Residents Association – must be formed to determining the next steps.
The community bearing the primary risk must have a seat at the table where the solutions are drafted, not just being given a chance to view them after they are finalised.
Our uncompromising demands are as follows:
- No coastal reclamation by another name, size or concept
- Immediate, unredacted publication of the DoE’s rejection letter
- The formal inclusion of ProtectKarpal and independent experts in all future decision-making processes regarding the site
- A strict focus on resolving the landfill crisis through science-based, in-situ safe closure methodologies, completely decoupled from commercial reclamation development
- The gazetting of Middle Bank as a marine sanctuary
The people of Bandar Sri Pinang and Jelutong are entitled to clarity, empirical transparency and a direct voice in their environmental future.
They are entitled to the absolute assurance that a rejected, hazardous reclamation plan will not quietly return in altered packaging. – ProtectKarpal
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
