KUALA LUMPUR: THE RM12.5 billion Kuala Linggi International Port (KLIP) project by TAG Marine Sdn Bhd cannot commence until the company has obtained all the necessary approvals.
Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron, however, said the state government would help the company in getting the approvals.
“The state government will always lend a hand should any requirement be beyond the capacity of the developers.
“We will manage the mechanisms needed... the developers will have to sit down and discuss comprehensively with the authorities on how to find either a new location, new coordinates or on how best we can solve the problems to meet the requirements,” he told the New Straits Times.
Idris said this was to ensure that there would be no negative impact arising from the project.
Asked whether there were plans to move the project site, he said the location of KLIP would have to be near the area, as it was the perfect natural harbour.
“It’s the best area with the depth and maritime requirements (for a port). The area is one of a kind, with a natural harbour. Ship captains and owners have said that the area is the best place for ships to dock.”
TAG Marine managing director Datuk Noormustafa Kamal Yahya had last month announced that the project would commence next year, with the bulk of the funding coming from Chinese investors. The project is an expansion of the Kuala Linggi Port, which opened in 2001.
Yesterday, the NST published an exclusive report stating that environmentalists were puzzled as to how TAG Marine could have announced the project when the team that analysed the company’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) report had rejected it.
The team’s report said the location was unsuitable as it would disrupt the flow of water from Sungai Linggi; and because the project was at the mouth of the river, it would endanger marine life and fishermen’s livelihood.
Water quality and modelling specialist Dr Zaki Zainuddin, who led the team that rejected the project’s EIA, had told the NST the proposed location of KLIP was unsuitable as it could cause adverse shifts in hydrodynamics, which could potentially result in flooding inland.
In Malacca, Idris said the development of the state’s coast would move towards the industrialisation of its maritime services through new ports.
He said traditional agro-based professions might soon come to an end.
“I read about the grouses and I want to reply that you cannot forever remain as fishermen or traditional farmers because life requires you to go through different experiences. Now is the age to build ports.
“So, if you are still catching fish, then I fear there are other sentiments behind it. Reclamation began 44 years ago, so why are you complaining about it now?”
Idris, who was speaking after chairing the state executive council meeting, was responding to questions on the KLIP project and what had been called excessive reclamation works on Malacca’s coast.
He told the public to look to the future as the sprawling developments planned along the Malacca coast would attract opportunities.
He recalled a meeting with a farmer-turned-landlord in China recently, saying: “I was in Shenzhen, China, and I was told by this stylish landlord that 18 years ago he was just a small farmer earning a tough living. Today, he is the landlord of several expensive properties.
“I asked him what he does and he said he doesn’t farm anymore. Now, he helps ship owners clean their vessels docked at a port and monitors the rental collection for his properties in Shenzhen.
“Reclamation has been taking place in Malacca since 1972 for 44 years. Those in the Portuguese settlement have been catching fish for as long. You must remember that we were once rubber tappers, traditional fishermen and farmers.
“All those who lived by the coast were fishermen. But they do not remain fishermen forever.”