KUALA LUMPUR: Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has called for the cancellation of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) Project and for its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to be reviewed.
He said he had previously opposed the project while serving as the Natural Resources and Environment Minister in 2017 and reiterated his disagreement although the Department of Environment endorsed the EIA report in June, 2019.
He said the EIA report had stated that there will be a "permanent destruction to the site" and a significant negative impact on fisheries resources, fishermen and the country's food security by affecting the breeding ground for fish, prawns and crabs.
He said the fisheries resources would be permanently destroyed, and the fishing community exposed to grave hardship.
"There will be irreversible damage and residual impact on the mudflat ecosystem, fishing ground, turtle landing and part of the coral reef at Pulau Rimau (Rimau Island) which is an important ecosystem to the fishery resource.
"This irreversible damage would cause significant negative impact to the fishery resources and fishermen and would threaten the country's food security.
"It will be unfortunate that we have to bear the costs of the diminishing supply of seafood and the increase in prices," he said in a statement today.
Wan Junaidi said Penang's marine aquaculture industry accounted for 55 per cent of Malaysia's US$700 million annual marine harvests in 2017, with the area under threat having an estimated wholesale value of fish worth US$10 million.
He warned that the reclamation plan will affect the livelihood of about 1,800 fishermen in Penang and could even wipe out the fishing community there. He said it would also affect some 4,500 fishermen in Perak as well as those in Kedah.
"The northern coast of Penang is a mangrove area, which is the breeding ground for prawns, crabs and fishes.
"The marine ecosystem surrounding Penang island is also a playground of the IndoPacific Humpback Dolphin and the Indo-Pacific Finless Porpoise.
"There is no doubt that the water pollution and contamination will likely disrupt their swimming paths which spread for miles across the oceans," he said.
The EIA report, he said, found records of Olive Ridley Turtle landings, including the Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) at Teluk Kumbar, Gertak Sanggul, Pantai Medan, Teluk Tempoyak and Pantai Belanda.
The PSR project, he cautioned, will wipe out the landing and nesting ground of the turtles, resulting in the loss of the ecosystem chain provided by the turtles.
"Sea turtles play vital roles in maintaining the health of the oceans by maintaining healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs, providing key habitat for other marine life, helping to balance marine food webs and facilitating nutrient cycling from water to land. These turtles are natural assets which should be protected," he said.
Wan Junaidi also emphasised the need for an assessment on sand mining impacts before green-lighting the project.
"Millions of tonnes of marine sand will be mined and rocks quarried for the land reclamation which will have significant impact to seabed flora and fauna.
"The deep seabed (benthic zone) and sea meadow habitats will be destroyed and the amount of siltation of the water will increase.
"Where the sand is deposited, burial of original biodiversity and habitats occur, suspended sediment increase will occur and changes in hydrodynamic patterns will affect biodiversity.
"The water will be highly polluted. At the same time because of water currents, these impacts are not confined to this specific dredge or dump site but to a wider area, so impacts on neighbouring habitats are possible," he said.
Wan Junaidi said the PSR project also undermines Malaysia's international commitments, such as the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework C
onvention on Climate Change, Malaysia's pledge for the Nationally Determined Contributi
on on enhancing our carbon reduction initiatives, the Biodiversity Convention and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and other international treaties.
"The environmental damage will not only affect the Balik Pulau coastal area but will also spread out to the southern and northern portion of the area of the straits, impacting Kedah and Perak.
"The major pollution discharge will certainly have an enormous impact on the northern part of the Melaka Straits.
"The reclamation project will put an end to sustainable use of seas and marine resources by permanent destruction of the marine sites.
"Such projects are known to generate more carbon dioxide in violation of Malaysia's pledge to reduce carbon emissions and adding to the rising global temperatures," he said.
Wan Junaidi called for alternative proposals to be considered to alleviate the state's transport congestion problem without destroying the environment, natural heritage and hurting the fishing community's livelihood.
The state, he said, had abundant land to be utilised for heavy, medium or small-scale industries and for infrastructure development without having to disturb the coastal areas of the southern side of the Penang Island.
"I do not see any form of mitigation measures that can ease out the losses that we will be facing if this mega project is allowed to be carried out," he added.
On Monday (May 31), Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar had also raised objections against the PSR project which threatened the state's valuable fishing ground, the livelihood of fishermen and overall food security.
A day before that, 10 DAP assemblymen issued a statement to affirm the necessity, feasibility and the vision underlying the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and the reclamation projects.