RESIDENTS from the Portuguese Settlement in Bandar Hilir will continue to track the status of the Melaka Gateway project that has affected their livelihood. 

They are pushing the authorities to explain the approval of the project and to ensure that the developer provides the environmental, social, and heritage impact assessment reports. 

The residents from the historic village will also seek legal action if all else fails. 

Save Portuguese Community Action group chairman Martin Theseira said they were shocked to hear that the project was given the go-ahead in March. 

“We want a stop-work order on the project until the EIA, SIA, and HIA reports are presented. 

“Many of the residents here don’t want the project to proceed. No more land reclamation,” he told The Malaysian Insight. 

Theseira said they wanted to tell the developer and state government that the seafront facing the Portuguese settlement had been covered by the land reclamation project. 

“They have almost robbed us of our entire horizon. What we have in front is just a dead pool of water.” 

He said at least 1,200 families, including that of 150 fishermen, were affected by the project. 

“The fishermen can’t ply their trade across the coast as it is polluted because of reclamation and runoffs. 

“They also now have to go deeper to sea to fish and are exposed to the elements and for this they also need capital for bigger boats if they want to go further out to sea.” 

The residents are questioning the approval given to the developer despite the project’s termination in 2020.

It was reported in March that Malacca’s industrial and investment committee chairman Ab Rauf Yusoh said they would allow KAJ Development Sdn Bhd to continue with the project as planned. 

The RM42 billion Melaka Gateway project was launched in 2014 by the then prime minister Najib Razak. Work was to start in 2018 for completion in 2025. However, it was cancelled in 2020 by the Pakatan Harapan government. 

Recently, the Barisan Nasional-led state government handed back the project to the developer. 

The deal to reclaim 550ha of land in the Malacca Straits is projected to create more than 40,000 jobs, attract 2.5 million tourists yearly, and generate RM1.19 trillion for the local economy. 

On whether they would hold any more protests, Theseira said those days were gone as they had done enough to halt the project. 

He said their group would not be sending any more letters to the Malacca menteri besar or the authorities but would seek legal action. 

“Even if we send a protest letter it will be pushed aside. We have sent countless letters and we have also sent memorandums to former prime minister Najib Razak, former Malacca menteri besar Idris Haron, and the Department of Environment. 

“Time for protests are over, for us now it is legal action. After many memorandums, we are still fighting. So, we want to have a conclusive decision.” 

He also said they were never against development, but it must not come at the expense of the community. 

“We have already carried out many protests (on this project) because the sea is our lifeline.” 

Meanwhile, Save Our Seashores Malacca, a civil society group, has questioned the sustainability of the mega project. 

Its spokesman Chan Tsu Choong said the state government had said the project was for development. 

“They always sell the idea that this is good for locals. 

“There was the promise that it would create so many jobs, bringing in millions of ringgit in investments. 

“But our question is: Is this development sustainable? Because in Malacca along the coastal way, there are commercial buildings that are empty,” Chan said. 

The Malaysian Insight had visited the site and saw that the area was cordoned off. There was a partially built two-storey building and no activity could be seen in the area. 

Chan said that there were malls and other properties along the coast that were abandoned. 

“So, we see the project as a similar development. 

“We feel that this kind of project is not sustainable. On weekends, there are crowds but on weekdays there are not many people here.” 

He said that in the past two years, they created an online petition that received close to 10,000 signatures, and held public awareness talks and other programmes. 

“We are not blindly saying no (to development), because it is a mega project, but what we question is its sustainability and who does it benefit?” 

He also said developers must follow the law without compromise as there must be EIA reports on their projects. – September 9, 2022.