In a press conference by Pen Mutiara today, a local fishing unit chief in Balik Pulau alleged that the signature campaign was likely conducted under fraudulent circumstances in September.
Ridzuan Hashim said fishermen in the Kuala Sungai Pinang unit he leads were told that upon signing, they would receive Covid-19 aid. If they signed another paper, they would get an ex gratia payment, boats and other goodies.
He said the person asking for the signatures declined to give details when the fishermen asked for relevant documentation on the handout.
“Those who signed were promised money, boats and engines and more. In our current hardship, of course, our fishermen would sign,” he said.
Ridzuan said that, fortunately, not many from his unit signed after realising that it could be a deception.
Pen Mutiara chairman Mahadi Md Rodzi said the signature campaign by the group was led by a registered fisherman, whose membership in the association would be reviewed.
He said that while fishermen were free to express their views, in 2016, the association unanimously passed a motion to object to the PSR project.
Mahadi said any fisherman making claims on behalf of all others in Penang would run afoul of Pen Mutiara’s constitution and the Fishermen’s Association Act 1971.
“There are also claims that Pen Mutiara has been forcing members to object to the project. Since 2016, we have never received any motion asking for the ‘no PSR’ motion to be withdrawn,” he said.
Mahadi said there were close to 6,000 members in the association, registered under the auspices of the Fisheries Development Board (LKIM), which dwarfs the so-called signature campaign supporting the PSR.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the group that garnered the 1,521 signatures for the PSR said Pen Mutiara’s position did not represent the fishermen and the residents in the south of Penang who supported the project.
“The fishermen’s association should not dictate what the residents or pro-PSR fishermen want. Not everyone in the south of Penang island is a fisherman,” Pertubuhan Lestari Alam Sekitar Pulau Pinang’s Tan Chen Tat said when contacted.
Of the 1,521 signatories, 435 were fishermen, while others were locals, state government news outlet Buletin Mutiara reported recently.