In dismissing the judicial review brought by seven fishermen and two NGOs, High Court judge Quay Chew Soon said he found no illegality, impropriety or irrationality in the state’s approval of the project.
The fishermen, with NGOs Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim (Jedi), had contended that the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project would cause irreversible environmental damage and adversely affect the livelihoods of the local fishing community.
Challenging the planning permission granted for the PSR project on Aug 21, 2023, they argued that the approval process breached multiple provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 and the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
They sought to invalidate said permission, overturn the decision, restore the affected area and obtain compensation for lost income.
The grounds for the review included failure to comply with town planning laws, errors in project referrals, the absence of environmental assessments and neglect of adverse impacts on the environment and fishermen’s livelihoods.
It named the state town and country planning department director, the Penang state planning committee chaired by the chief minister, the Penang government and developer SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd as respondents.
Quay said the case was thrown out partly due to it being out of time, as it should have been filed at least a month earlier by Dec 1, 2023 instead of Dec 29.
One of the seven fishermen, Zakaria Ismail, said he was deeply saddened by the decision. “I think this means that the job of a fisherman in Penang is officially extinct,” he said.
State opposition leader Fauzi Yusoff, who had joined the fishermen to lend moral support, said the case was won on technicalities at the expense of the fishermen.
Jedi’s Khoo Salma Nasution meanwhile said the decision was regrettable as it would put the fishermen’s future at great risk, while SAM’s honorary secretary S Mageswari said they had yet to decide if they would appeal the decision.
Lawyers Theiva Lingam, Jessica Ram Binwani and A Lalith Kumar appeared for the fishermen and the two NGOs. Federal counsel Nordiyanasari Omar, Charanjit Singh, Yeoh Cho Keong and Chai Chin Wuen appeared for the respondents.