THIS open letter is addressed to Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in response to seven main points from his media statement yesterday concerning fisheries resources at the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project site.

1. Penang is losing the opportunity to develop

Answer: Actually, the state government will lose the opportunity of owning 70% of the holding of Island A if PSR continues. Penang has never lost the opportunity to develop without sea embankments. The development of Seberang Perai is the future of Penang, which must be given priority and of course the 70% stake in Island A can be avoided.

What the state government is doing now can be likened to “the husband wants to have luxury by borrowing to buy an expensive car, but the wife’s jewellery is mortgaged”. The idea of development is supposedly clever, apparently by mortgaging public property rights.

In addition, the opportunity for an open tender for the implementation of this project is also lost. This happens when the SRS PD and SRS TC are allowed by the state government to become project developers and turnkey contractors, where each gets the opportunity through direct negotiation.

Where has the Penang government’s call for “open tender” all this time gone?

Have your calls been swept away by certain interests or are you too desperate to continue the PSR even by mortgaging strategic coastal land for the sake of a beloved developer?

2. Penang lost the opportunity to create jobs for the people (after implementing the reclamation project)

Answer:  If it is true the project creates employment opportunities for the people, what has happened to the Seri Tanjong Pinang 2 Reclamation Project 2 (STP2), which is currently abandoned? How many job opportunities are there for the locals compared with foreign workers? How many job opportunities are suitable for fishermen? In my opinion, even if investors clamour over the STP2 reclamation, do not daydream of being able to take on the PSR!

3. Fishermen are said to benefit from the social impact management plan, which can improve their socio-economic position

Answer: Enough with this false promise that has no black and white guarantee. The one-off compensation of RM 20,000, which is solely limited to the boat captain and supposed to sustain him for the rest of his life is already considered an insult to fishermen. For the record, his crew’s lifetime compensation is far less than that amount.

What if I were to offer this package to Chow and state reps who support PSR, to take this RM 20,000 in exchange for their monthly incomes?

Then in exchange, give the salaries of the chief minister and assemblymen to the affected fishermen. If that is indeed the offer, then it is appropriate for Chow to talk about improving the socio-economic status of the fishermen.

4. Fishermen still have ample space for fishing activities outside the PSR area

Answer: Reclamation should take place far from the strategic bay area for fish and shrimp breeding. By the same logic, why isn’t the sea reclamation done in a vast area of the ocean about more than 10 nautical miles off the coast of Penang?

Of course, a special 250m navigation channel would no longer be needed. Of course, the residents of PSR will have more privacy and safety in the middle of the sea. Why should the state government instead be encroaching on rich fishing grounds?

5. The southern region only contributed 4% to fish production in 2015

Answer: If indeed fish production has only been a meagre 4%, this means that all this time the state government seems to have deliberately allowed the production to be low as an excuse to support the reclamation. It makes no sense to cunningly plan such a failure for the sake of the evil agenda of the PSR.

The state government should focus on increasing the measly 4% figure, instead of implementing the sea reclamation, which would inevitably shrink the fishery production output.

6. The state government will ensure reclamation work takes place in a controlled manner and does not cause pollution

Answer: Too many promises have gone unfulfilled and have even led to disaster. The STP2 sea reclamation is obvious evidence that the sea in the Tg Tokong area has been polluted. Why pretend not to know this?

The state government has a long-standing track record of failing to control development projects that cause disasters and deaths such as the incidents at Bukit Kukus and Granito, Tg Bungah. The results of the investigation have been kept under wraps from public scrutiny even until now.

PSR’s sea reclamation with the presence of dredgers transporting waste will risk the lives of fishermen with their small boats when the waterway traffic in the area becomes busy.

7. The state government would like to emphasise it does not have to make a choice between developing PSR, and defending the fate of fishermen for food security

Answer: What actually happened was the state government voted to:

– prioritise the interests of PSR developers by mortgaging 70% of Island A’s holdings

– disrupt the ecosystem of cost-effective fishing fertile areas for coastal fishermen to operate because of proximity to the coast

– drive small boat fishermen to go far from the coastal area. Fishermen continue to have to bear high costs to operate while the favoured developers continue to be pampered with special offers from the state government as blue-eyed partners.

The state government really loves SRS developers, doesn’t it? Is this what is meant by “not intending to underestimate the contributions of coastal fishermen”?

As the saying goes, “monkeys in the forest are breastfed, while your own children at home are starving to death”.

Hopefully the answers from what I have submitted can be accepted with an open heart by the chief minister and it is enough for all parties to make an assessment of the unfolding catastrophe that is being denied. – June 14, 2021.

* Zikrullah Ismail reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.