Lau, who is contesting for the Bayan Lepas seat in the Aug 12 polls, said PN’s focus would be developing eco-tourism at Penang’s fishing villages instead of reclamation.

“If PN is given the mandate in the state election, we will cancel the reclamation project. We will not allow even one island to take off,” he told reporters during a visit to a fishermen’s unit in Bayan Lepas today.

The Penang PN chief said he understood the hardship faced by the fishermen affected by the PSI project.

He said PN did not oppose development in Penang, but DAP’s idea of developing the state appeared to be confined to land reclamation and building condominiums that most Penangites would not be able to afford.

“That is why I say they are a government for foreigners, (a government) that builds condominiums for Singaporeans, Taiwanese and Hong Kongers,” he said.

When told that previous state governments led by Gerakan had approved reclamation projects, Lau said they were for affordable housing. He cited the east coast reclamation project where affordable housing estates were built in the 1990s.

In May, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow had announced that the PSI project will be reduced to 931ha on a single island, instead of the original three (measuring 1,821ha each), south of the Penang International Airport runway.

Development will now focus on Silicon Island, formerly known as Island A, which will take 20 years to complete according to project estimates.

Accompanying Lau at the press conference were representatives from the Penang Fishermen’s Association and Ravinder Singh, who is the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) candidate for the Pantai Jerejak state seat.