The megaproject that will be built on 6,070ha of reclaimed land is now under greater scrutiny, prompting state Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders like former chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali and Melaka Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh to leap to MWEZ’s defence.
Sulaiman said the project running 22km from Umbai to Tanjung Bruas was not new but a mere rebranding of various land reclamation projects in Melaka and claimed that approvals had been granted through 56 concessions to reclaim more than 11,000 acres by “various chief ministers over the years”.
While BN looks set to proceed with MWEZ should it win at the polls this Saturday, both Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) have pledged to review the megaproject to some extent if they were to win the polls.
However, residents who live along the coastline hold little hope that the project will not go through, especially since the state government had already signed a deal with LBS Bina Group Bhd in April for MWEZ’s first phase.
Martin Theseira, 65, said the signing of the contract meant it would be difficult to “u-turn” as going back against the deal would mean high compensation costs.
Pointing out that past reclamation work was behind the frequent flash floods in the state, the Melakan of Portuguese descent said business owners should be up in arms even more over the possibility of more reclamation being carried out.
“If you own a heavy metal factory and your business is disrupted by floods once in five years, you would be okay. But five times a year? You would be frustrated,” said the fisherman who resides in the Portuguese Settlement in Ujong Pasir.
Minimising reclamation project
Tan Loon Kah, 40, believes it would be “very difficult” now for the project and the reclamation work to be halted, but held out hope that PH would win the election and form the state government.
He is hoping for its chief minister candidate Adly Zahari to take some action against the project, by at least minimising it, given the Amanah man’s “history” in cancelling up to 80% of reclamation projects when PH came to power in 2018.
“Adly and Low Chee Leong, the Kota Laksamana assemblyman, have both spoken out against MWEZ in the state assembly before this. Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong also did so in the Dewan Rakyat,” he told FMT.
Nonetheless, he said, the objective was to raise more awareness among other Melakans, especially those who do not reside on the coast, in the hope that the reclamation work is kept to a minimum.
Locals aren’t the only ones who are speaking up against the proposed development.
Dutch national Frits van Walden said there was “no hope” that MWEZ would be stopped, saying the only thing Melakans could do now was to negotiate for the reclamation work and its effects to be minimised.
The 68-year-old, who has been living in Melaka for 25 years, pointed out that one failed reclamation development was Pulau Melaka, which now mainly comprised empty, abandoned shoplots.
“What benefit has it yielded?” asked Frits, who used to work in oil and gas and resides in Tanjung Kling.
Marine biologist Maria Marcos, who hails from Spain, cut a more optimistic figure, hoping that the project could be halted by the next state government.
Taking encouragement from the recently concluded COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, she pointed out that Melaka’s preservation of its mangroves and seagrasses meant the state was already one step ahead of other countries.
But she stressed that the coastline needed to be protected as the Malacca Straits were a “hotspot of biodiversity” that was unique only to Melaka.
All four agreed that there was a lack of awareness among Melakans living away from the coast on the issue of reclamation as well as how it would affect them.
While an online petition launched by the coastline residents managed to garner over 20,000 signatures, they will soon be putting up banners closer to polling day in the hope of raising greater awareness on the matter.