Pulau Betong state assemblyman Muhamad Farid Saad said Permatang Damar Laut, located along Penang island’s southern coast, is rich with marine life and thus should remain as a national heritage.
“As a Penangite and a true-blue Balik Pulau boy, I will gazette the 5,000-acre area as a marine park so that it can be protected and be part of our heritage, that is if I were given the power to make a decision.
“The eco-system and marine life will be destroyed (if the reclamation project goes through). Subsequently, our food source will be affected. So, don’t be cruel to mother nature,” the Umno rep said in a statement today.
The Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, which entails the construction of three artificial islands at a 809.73 ha site in Permatang Damar Laut, is being planned to finance the Penang Transport Master Plan.
Farid said the livelihood of the fishermen in the area would also be affected if the project was given the go-ahead.
“They have objected to the project. Environmental non-governmental organisations have also filed their objections as the project would destroy the marine life and threaten the eco-system,” he said.
He advised State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee Chairman Chow Kon Yeow not to question Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar on the reclamation project.
“As the state executive councillor, Chow should not be arrogant by asking a federal minister to come to Penang and meet him to explain the details on the project. He is not the chief minister,” Farid said.
During a visit to Sungai Batu, Teluk Kumbar, here last Wednesday, Wan Junaidi said he disagreed with the reclamation project.
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