IN English, E is the most used letter in the alphabet. Today, I want to focus on an important E in the Melaka state government's mega-scale development, the Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone (MWEZ).
I think it is time to replace the word "Economic" with "Environmental".
The MWEZ, as approved by the state assembly and the Housing and Local Government Ministry, will involve thousands of hectares of new land being reclaimed from the sea.
Melaka is renowned as a Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) heritage city with a strong maritime history. Yet, it is the sea which is now under threat.
The MWEZ concept in its newly expanded form will stretch 33km along the coast, encompassing more than half of the entire coastline of Melaka state.
With an area more than double the size of Putrajaya, the MWEZ is a catch-all plan of five zones. All these zones will involve additional reclamation from the sea, despite a dismal record of failure for most previous reclamations.
The Melaka coastline is already littered with "dead" areas of empty and undeveloped reclaimed land.
The so-called "iconic" Melaka Gateway project has been on-off for years and is still far from being completed.
Melaka's unique Portuguese settlement community has suffered major disruption to and degradation of its unique maritime culture. The most recently completed reclamation, in the Klebang area, lies desolate and unloved.
The environmental costs of these past reclamations include worsening flooding, pollution along the coastal waters, threats to an endangered species of turtles laying eggs, sand from the Melaka Gateway project choking the crabs inhabiting the Portuguese settlement seafront, and the disappearance of the small shrimps needed for making the local delicacy of cincalok.
Local fishermen have been losing their traditional fishing grounds and are being forced further out to sea in search of fish to catch.
Melaka does not have many beaches, but the few natural ones that remain in Pantai Puteri, Pantai Kundur and near Sungai Lereh are under threat of extinction.
Moreover, the MWEZ seems to contradict the federal government's latest National Physical Plan (RFN4), which states that reclamation is allowed only for two types of development: national-level infrastructure needs, and safety and national security reasons.
Surely, neither apply in the MWEZ case.
No city can stand still and certainly development should be
allowed if it is coherent and sustainable.
But, the word "economic" should not be allowed to cover a multitude of ills. For the sake of historic Melaka's environmental and cultural future, why not make better use of the existing reclaimed land and stop these other new projects?
I would like to propose that the existing and massively under-utilised reclaimed land areas could be used for projects that bring jobs and are beneficial to the local economy, but to protect the marine environment, no new reclamation should be allowed.
Why not declare the remaining coastline areas as environmental preservation zones that residents and visitors alike can enjoy in their natural state?
One encouraging sign is that the Department of the Environment (DoE) has recently rejected the environmental impact assessment for one proposed new reclamation project in the Pekan Klebang area.
We look to the DoE to continue to be proactive in protecting what remains of Melaka's marine eco-systems.
The sales brochure of one local company constructing a large mixed-use development on already-reclaimed land in the Kota Laksamana area boasts of "magnificent sea views".
I wonder whether, by the time that project is completed in five years' time, there will be any seas left for the occupants to view.
Let's give priority to saving Melaka's environment.
The writer, a retired academic, enjoys the sea breezes in Melaka