WHEN Penang first mooted its man-made island project, the state promised fishermen a new village, better housing and amenities.

The promise, however, rings hollow for many fishing communities in the southern part of the island in Teluk Kumbar, as the massive Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project will destroy the breeding grounds for prawns and fish on which their livelihoods depend.

The community, environmental groups and the fisheries authority have shown that sand mining off the coast of southern Penang island and northern Perak for the project will destroy breeding areas of seafood and fish.

For the fisherfolk, a new fishing village in the PSR is a paradox because it aims to give them a better standard of living but its construction will kill off their source of income.

Also, they questioned who the village is really for as they doubt that any of the fisherfolk will be able to afford the new houses once they are completed.

The new village, dubbed “Penang Biodiversity”, is one of the elements in a video on the design of the three man-made islands.

“Anyone can make beautiful and sophisticated designs. But what is the impact on us? What will happen to the Teluk Kumbar fishing village that has stood here for 60 years?” said Roslizan Ramli, who heads the Teluk Kumbar fishermen’s group.

“Looking at the video, it’s not like we can afford the houses even though it is advertised as a fishing village. The only thing we can afford is probably the door to the houses,” Roslizan told The Malaysian Insight.

The PSR, started by the Pakatan Harapan Penang government, aims to build three artificial islands off the southern coast of Penang island.

The state intends to use the three islands, covering more than 1,800ha, to fund an ambitious RM46 billion transport master plan.

Environmentalists and community groups have opposed the PSR as well as the transport master plan, which include cutting hills, building highways and an undersea tunnel connecting Penang island to the mainland.

Despite stiff opposition, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government will persist with the projects.

The design for the Penang South Islands (PSI) was uploaded to YouTube by Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).

BIG won a contest to design the PSI and Chow said the state will work with the firm to finalise the master plan.

Among the features which the video showed off were a new state mosque, a smart park, various housing units and the new fishermen’s kampung.

The video is adding to the fishermen’s concerns that construction of the three islands will start soon.

“When construction starts, none of us will get to go out to sea again as the sand-mining ships and sand barges will interfere with our ability to fish,” said Kg Sg Batu fishermen’s unit deputy chief Mohamad Ismail Ahmad.

“The mud and sand from the mining will destroy the breeding grounds for prawns, fish and crabs.”

The fishing grounds are considered a gold mine for the community as it is shallow and rich with a variety of marine life.

“Fishermen don’t have to go far out to get big prawns. They could catch about 100kg a day and the market price is RM45 per kg.

“The most affected in the village will be younger fishermen with families as those who are older can depend on their adult children who have other income sources,” said Ismail.

“Our catches have always been stable but the project will destroy thousands of lives.”

Another Sg Batu resident, Famizam Mohamed Ibrahim, 32, is one of those younger fishermen who is the most worried about the PSR, as his family depend on his catch.

Till today, there has been no word on how Penang plans to compensate the fishermen over their loss of income.

“When the second Penang bridge was built, we received compensation in the thousands because the project was on our fishing grounds.

“But with this project, there has been no word. We’re not begging for money but we are worried about how we will put food on the table once the PSR takes off.” – August 29, 2020.