GEORGE TOWN: Some 6,000 fishermen in the state have warned that they will only vote in leaders who protect their wellbeing in the 15th general election (GE15).
The Penang Fishermen's Association (Pen Mutiara) chairman Ibrahim Che Ros said these included leaders who opposed the Penang South Island (PSI) project, previously known as the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.
"Our vote is for leaders who have been protecting our wellbeing and not those out to destroy our lives.
"And we know who to vote out this time around," he told a press conference at the Pen Mutiara Restaurant and Hotel here this afternoon.
Ibrahim also urged the new federal government to be formed after GE15 to outright reject the massive reclamation project.
"This is because this PSI project destroys the livelihood of fishermen. There is abundant marine resources here. Last year alone, we recorded 300 tonnes of marine catch valued at RM5 million.
"So, why must they destroy this rich marine habitat here, filled with kembong, senangin, prawns and crabs?" he asked.
The PSI project, covering 17 sq km, involves the development of three man-made islands covering 1,800 hectares in the waters off Permatang Damar Laut, near Bayan Lepas.
It was introduced as a funding module of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) worth about RM46 billion. Fishermen have objected to the reclamation project since it was first introduced back in 2015.
They scored a moral victory when they won an appeal to revoke the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval of the controversial project last year.
This came after a preliminary objection by Zakaria Ismail, head of the fishermen's unit of Sungai Batu, was allowed and approval by the Department of Environment (DoE) on the PSI's EIA was set aside.
The EIA was deemed by the court as ultra vires, null and void of Section 34A(4)(a) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974. The Penang government has since submitted a new EIA for approval.
Meanwhile, Zakaria said at a time where everyone was talking about food security, Penang was doing otherwise.
"We are already experiencing a shortage of chicken eggs and such. If this reclamation project goes through, it will cause an increase in prices of marine produce," he added.
Zakaria said the fishermen also rejected other reclamation projects that the state had planned to increase the state's land bank.
#kw: Penang, PSI, fishermen, reclamation project, GE15.