BALIK PULAU: Some 6,000 fishermen in the state will reject any offer by the Penang government and SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd with regards to the controversial Penang South Island (PSI) project, previously known as the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.
Penang Fishermen's Association (Pen Mutiara) chairman Ibrahim Che Ros said they were united in rejecting any offer and would never accept the PSI project, which would gravely affect their livelihood.
He said the state government should respect the rights of the fishermen on this matter and should stop sending any offer letter to the fishermen to confuse and divide the fishing community.
"We condemn the attempts by the Penang government and SRS Consortium to divide the fisher folk by making all sorts of offers. Such an act is irresponsible.
"Also, the PSI project goes against the wishes of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to do away with mega projects," he said today.
Soon after Anwar was sworn in as the country's 10th prime minister last November, Pen Mutiara had written to him, seeking for a face-to-face meeting to discuss the PSI project.
Ibrahim said they received a response from the Prime Minister's Office and awaiting for a suitable date to meet him.
"Until and unless we have meet with the prime minister personally, we will not entertain any offer. Our stand is clear, in that we reject the controversial reclamation project," he added.
In a letter addressed to all fishermen unit heads by the State Secretary's Office dated Dec 16 last year, ex-gratia payment as well as boats and engines were offered to Level 1 and Level 2 fishermen who would be affected by the PSI project.
The same letter also stated that fishermen who registered for the offer did not necessarily support the PSI project.
In response, Pen Mutiara in a letter dated Wednesday, had rejected the offer and told the state not to make any other offers in efforts to confuse and divide the fishermen.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim said the water in the southern part of the island here had seen abundance of marine life in recent weeks with a fisherman being able to fish out nearly 100 kilogrammes of prawns in just three days.
He also said the kembong season would be approaching soon.
"So, why must we carry on with the reclamation and lose all these rich marine life?" he asked.
The PSI project, covering an area of 17sq km, involves the development of three man-made islands spanning an area of 1,800ha in the waters off Permatang Damar Laut, near Bayan Lepas.
It was introduced as a funding module for the Penang Transport Master Plan, which is estimated to cost about RM46 billion.
Fishermen had objected to the reclamation project since it was first introduced in 2015. They scored a moral victory when they won an appeal to revoke the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval for the project in 2021, after the court allowed a preliminary objection by Zakaria Ismail, head of the fishermen's unit in Sungai Batu, and the approval by the Environment Department for the project's EIA was set aside.
The EIA was deemed by the court as ultra vires, null and void according to Section 34A(4)(a) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974. The Penang government has since submitted a new EIA for approval.
The fishing community is against the project, claiming that it would destroy their livelihood and the abundant marine resources here.
They have expressed hope that the new government would not approve the new EIA.