FISHERFOLK are opposed to the proposed development of quarters for foreign workers in the Teluk Kumbar fishing village Penang.

The hostel, they said, would affect their lives and their livelihood.

They said they were also not informed of the development.

A check on the Penang Island City Council website shows  Zantalite Entreprise (M) Sdn Bhd is the project developer.

The proposed project comprises a 28-storey apartment block and 21-storey commercial building along with the foreign workers’ hostel.

The fishermen do not object to the construction of the apartments and commercial units.

They said the hostel, however, would have an adverse impact on the two fishing villages in Gertak Sanggul and Teluk Kumbar.

Gertak Sanggul Fishermen unit head Chooi Sooi Kong said he got to know of the proposed development after receiving a notice from the city council last week.

The development, he said, will cause an influx of foreigners, which could be disruptive to local life in the area.

“According to the 2010 census, Gertak Sanggul has about 925 residents of which 60.54% are Chinese and 35.89% Malay,” he said.

The hostel has 623 units, of of which could accommodate 18 people, which works out to more than 11,000 residents.

This means the number of foreigners in the area would exceed that of the locals.

Chooi was also baffled by the choice of location as Teluk Kumbar was not an industrial area.

“According to the guidelines, workers’ hostel in Penang are only allowed to be built in the  industrial  zones or small business districts.

“The proposed location is clearly not in line with the requirement. This place has heavy traffic and it is neither an industrial nor a construction site,” he told reporters in Kampung Bagan, Gertak Sanggul.

Chooi said about five years ago the developer had offered 37 fishermen households a unit each if they would consent to the project.

A Chinese temple would also have to be relocated if they had agreed to the plan.

Most of the fishermen had initially said yes but changed their minds upon finding out that a foreign workers hostel would be built at the site.

Teluk Kumbar Fishermen unit head Roslizan Ramli, that neither the developer nor the state government had come forward to explain the project.

With the issue of the three man-made islands in the Penang South Reclamation project still hanging over their heads, fishermen were now being burdened by yet another project, he said.

“We would be happy if the apartments were for the fishermen community. But instead they are being built for foreigners. Then what about us?

“The residents will become the victims.”

He urged the state government to cancel the project which would not benefit the fishermen community.

“Gertak Sanggul and Teluk Kumbar are small fishermen villages and there are also other cottage businesses such as agriculture, durian farming and fish breeding,” he said.

He said the project would also have an ill effect on the physical and mental wellbeing of the locals. – January 1, 2020.