LAST month, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad urged Asian to adopt the Prosper-Thy-Neighbour policy that promoted the concept of shared prosperity, which will lead to a sustainable and secure future for the region. He referred to the growing industrialisation of emerging economies — China, India and Southeast Asia. If they forged strategic alliances, they would prosper the region as well as their countries.
In the same vein, the policy can be expanded domestically to boost growth among states, especially in rural areas, through the sharing of resources — as opposed to land reclamation which will benefit only a certain few. A case in point is the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, which critics claimed would take Penang backwards against proclamations of a robust economy and more jobs for the locals. Environmentally, PSR is seen as a threat — conservationists and non-governmental organisations have called for it to be halted.
Penang may want to consider developing its hinterland areas, which border other states’ fishing villages, such as Kuala Kurau and Kuala Gula in Perak, and Kedah. By sea, these villages are not too far from Penang, but they are worlds apart. The Northern Corridor Economic Region may want to include development of such idyllic enclaves. A viable venture for such beauty. Expansion via “land” instead of the sea is, of course, economically cheaper.
Reclamation along the country’s coast has been done since the 1950s, according to official data, but in the 1990s, it captured much public attention because of the enormity of projects and concerns voiced by environmentalists. Poorer areas along the coast continue to be cut off.
Environmentalists say reclamation has “gobbled up swathes of ocean along Malaysia’s western coast”; Melaka city, for instance, has been described as a city that “is standing in the middle” of the sea after two decades. Of course, for Singapore, an island, reclamation can accommodate a growing population, but for Malaysia, land shortage for development is relative — there are areas that can be acquired and developed with infrastructure and other facilities.
One can say reclamation is a misnomer — more destruction than anything. The simplest method involves filling an earmarked sea-area with rock and cement, then filling it with clay and soil. It disrupts the ocean’s ecosystem, causes erosion of the seabed and pollutes the water. Take the case of Hong Kong, Reclamation started in the 1990s. It created new roads, commercial development sites, the Mass Transit Railway, to name a few. But it has set it further and further away from the sea. It has affected marine life — for example, researchers from the University of Hong Kong have found that the dolphin population there is declining at a rate of 2.5 per cent every year.
Penang stands to gain from the economic activity generated by the villagers and in turn, villagers are improving their lives — “everyone gains from prosper-thy-neighbour”. An industry expert says because PSR involves taking sand from a neighbouring state, it will affect the ecosystem of the rivers, although it may stimulate Penang’s economy.
“Everyone gains from prosper-thy-neighbour policies, while only one side gains from beggar-thy-neighbour mindsets” — Dr Mahathir.