GEORGE TOWN: The nine applicants who filed a judicial review to challenge the planning permission granted by the state Town and Country Planning director last August for the Penang Silicon Island project (PSI), are dismayed and disappointed with the decision of the Penang High Court in dismissing the matter.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) honorary secretary Mageswari Sangaralingam and Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim (Jedi) president Khoo Salma Nasution said despite lengthy submissions by the applicants on the respondents' non-compliance with the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1976 at various stages of the planning process, the High Court found in favour of the respondents.
They said the High Court dismissed the judicial review application, stating amongst others, that the application was filed out of time and the respondents had complied with the TCPA 1976 and therefore there was no illegality, irrationality or unreasonableness in the decision making process in the grant of the planning permission.
They said the High Court also agreed with the respondents' submission that there was no need to review and alter the Penang Structure Plan 2030 on the downsizing of the project, previously known as Penang South Reclamation (PSR), since Islands B and C were merely shelved and not abandoned.
"Despite the clear and unambiguous public representations by the Penang government that the Islands B and C would no longer be implemented, it was revealed during the exchange of affidavits in these proceedings that the Penang government had actually merely 'shelved' Islands B and C temporarily and had not limited the PSR project to only Island A.
"While we respect the decision of the court today, the applicants who are mainly fisherfolk impacted by the project, feel dejected that their pleas and complaints have been ignored, and their rights disregarded," they said today.
Mageswari and Khoo Salma said, according to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, the project would cause permanent and irreversible loss to the ecosystem.
"Apart from this, the lives and livelihoods of the coastal fishermen in the southern part of Penang will also be adversely affected," they added.
As such, they said, the applicants would be filing an appeal against this decision in due course.
The High Court here today dismissed the judicial review filed by seven fishermen to challenge the planning permission granted by the state Town and Country Planning director last August for the PSI project.
The judicial review was filed alongside SAM and Jedi.
With this ruling, the PSI project can now proceed as planned.
The application for judicial review was initially filed by the seven fishermen, SAM, and Jedi at the Penang High Court in December last year.