The fishermen’s unit of Sungai Batu, which is directly affected by the Penang South Islands (PSI) project – as the reclamation is now formally called – had appealed against an earlier approval granted by the environment department (DoE) in July 2019.
It is understood the developers may have to file a fresh environmental impact assessment (EIA) report if they want to proceed with the mega project.
The decision favouring the fishermen’s unit was announced by its lawyer, Meenakshi Raman, at a press conference on Zoom today.
The unit, led by Zakaria Ismail, 63, comprises 185 fishermen from the south of the island.
The decision was made by a three-member environmental appeals board led by sessions judge Rozina Ayub. In reversing PSI’s approval, she said the DoE director-general had given consent using a draft structure plan, which was yet to be assented by the governor and was hence illegal.
In explaining the board’s decision, Meenakshi said the developers of the project had sought approval for an EIA based on a draft version of the 2030 Penang Structure Plan.
The plan, a macro-level town planning blueprint, had yet to be approved by the governor at the time of submission, she said.
The structure plan was only passed by the governor on Aug 28, 2019, and published in the state gazette on Oct 24 the same year.
It was reported that the EIA application for the PSI project was made earlier on June 21, 2019, and approved in two working days, with the Penang government saying it was two years of hard work.
Given that the 2020 Penang Structure Plan was still in force then, the board said the proposed project was effectively illegal.
“The board had also considered if it could regularise and cure this defect, but later found that it did not have the powers to do so,” she said.
“Taking all factors into consideration, the board set aside the earlier approval given by the DoE director-general as it was ultra vires, null and void of Section 34A (4) (a) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974.”
Meenakshi said the board’s decision was final and there was no further avenue for appeal. However, she said, the developers could apply for another EIA for DoE’s consideration.
The board’s hearing was the first since the Environmental Quality Act 1974 came into force. Besides Rozina, the other panel members were environmental experts – Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Mazlin Mokhtar and Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Ramdzani Abdullah.
Sungai Batu fishermen unit chief Zakaria Ismail was in tears after he heard of the board’s decision.
He said it was the unity of the fishermen and Penang’s NGOs which contributed to the success of the appeal.
“I was sad all this while thinking the project would go on. We depend on our catches in the area proposed for the reclamation for our livelihood. It is very important to us, food security is at stake.
“We thank those, including the lawyers, who stepped up to help. Today, Allah has answered our prayers.”
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