Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong said he was concerned over some of the proposals recently put forward by the state government since the launch of the M-WEZ blueprint more than a year ago.

He said among the potential “white elephant” projects were the 200m M-WEZ Tower, the M-WEZ Sky Wheel, water chalets, high-rise luxury condominiums and 22 bridges to be built at an estimated RM216 million.

Khoo questioned whether the projects would benefit the people as claimed by chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali during the launch in April last year.

“For example, the proposal to build 22 bridges with an estimated cost of RM216 million is illogical,” he said in a statement today.

“Such funds can be used to develop other basic infrastructure, such as flood mitigation works or agro-food industries, which will bring much more benefit to the people.”

Khoo also cited the failure of the Melaka Gateway project, which was launched by the Barisan Nasional government in 2014.

“It was said that the project would bring in billions in investment and create 40,000 jobs. Today, the project has been abandoned and has caused major environmental pollution to the surrounding area,” he said.

He said “progressive ideas” in the M-WEZ blueprint, such as transit-oriented development, recreational parks, and smart cities, should be implemented instead.

Noting that M-WEZ was the largest land reclamation project in Malaysia spanning more than 10,000ha across 33km of coastal area, Khoo said it would affect the environmental sustainability of the coastal areas and completely change the natural landscape of the state.

“Melaka has an alluring coastal area, and it is also rich in cultural and historical heritage. The state government should leverage this uniqueness and not waste funds on white elephant projects under M-WEZ,” he said.