Malaysian fishermen are making a last-ditch effort to stop the reclamation of Penang

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

It's no small undertaking to create three artificial islands from scratch off the coast of Penang in Malaysia's northwest.
However, the government of Penang, one of Malaysia's smallest states, appears to be up to the task.

The hugely controversial Penang South Reclamation (PSR), which was approved in 2015, was conceived to fund the larger and much anticipated 46 billion Malaysian ringgit ($11 billion) Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), which includes the development of a seamless system of new highways, a tunnel connecting the mainland and island, and a light rail system to alleviate the island's traffic congestion.

 

The project will produce 4,500 acres (1,821 hectares) of land on three artificial islands, with mostly car-free homes and an industrial sector made of bamboo, wood, and recycled concrete for up to 15,000 people per island.
The PSR, now hailed as the key economic driver for Penang's post-coronavirus recovery, is expected to generate 300,000 employment over the next 30 years, decrease brain drain, and ensure Penang's better future, according to its designers.

 

Environmentalists, on the other hand, claim that the three islands, dubbed BiodiverCity, will bury the state's richest fishing and biodiverse areas in the equivalent of 76,000 Olympic-size swimming pools of sand.
They are only 250 metres (820 feet) off the southern edge of the island.
The state government argues there is no more land on the island to develop, despite the fact that it has access to the mainly flat Seberang Perai region of Penang state on the Malaysian mainland, which is slightly larger than Singapore and nearly two-and-a-half times the size of the hilly island.

 

Since the project's approval in 2015, there has been a constant tug-of-war between those concerned about the reclamation's disastrous environmental consequences, who campaign under the banner of Penang Tolak Tambak (meaning "Penang Rejects Reclamation"), and staunch supporters of the state government, who argue that the project is the only way to ensure Penang's economic growth.

 

The affected fishing towns intend to present an appeal to the federal government this week, led by Zakaria Ismail, the leader of the Sungai Batu fishermen's union, asking for the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be cancelled.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, construction has yet to begin as of this writing.

Zakaria told Al Jazeera, "My goal is that this issue is given due attention."
“The Environmental Management Plan report favours us fisherman, and the PSR project should be cancelled by the federal government.”