Pengerang fishermen appeal for compensation

Watching the country’s largest integrated refinery and petrochemical complex coming up near their villages in Pengerang, Johor, residents are becoming increasingly pessimistic that they will be able to remain in the area.

Although unhappy with the prospects of being relocated, they have taken a step back to appeal for fair compensation, for the hardship they will face when they are moved out.

Malaysiakini recently spoke to fishermen at villages affected by both the RM60 billion Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development Project (Rapid) and the RM5 billion deepwater petroleum terminal.

The two mega-projects aim to transform southern Johor into a refining and petrochemical centre, complementing the existing facilities on the east coast of the peninsula and in Singapore.

Rapid will eventually acquire some 22,500 acres of land, affecting up to 15 villages in Pengerang.

The first phase of project development, which has yet to kick off, will lead to the relocation of some 3,000 residents occupying about 1,000 houses.

The land reclamation, which started last July, is part of the deepwater petroleum terminal project being jointly developed by Dialog Pengerang Sdn Bhd, Dutch company Royal Vopak and the Johor government.

However, residents in the area said they had been kept in the dark about the project until work began several  months ago, and expressed disappointment and dissatisfaction because they were not consulted.

"To say that we don't agree (with this project) is not possible because it has started. So, the fishermen ask for compensation, but nothing has been promised up to now," said Wan Mustapha Wan Harun (left) of Kampung Jawa who has been a fisherman since he was 15.

"I don't agree (to move without compensation). We will agree (to move) on the condition that compensation is adequate.”

Isa Abdul Hamid, another fisherman who has lived in the village for 57 years, said he would not want to move “if our life becomes worse”.

Both said they would prefer the compensation to be in the form of monthly cash payments, as they will lose their current source of income after being relocated to Kampung Punggai and Kampung Dato Abdul Ghani Othman - fishing villages they are not familiar with.

They claimed that those communities would not be happy about if they were to fish there, while different skills and equipment would be required in the new area.

The catch around Kampung Jawa has been severely reduced since the land reclamation work started last July, they said, but details of compensation have yet to be worked out.

Wan Mustapha said their average monthly income has slumped from about RM3,000 to some RM1,000 today.

Reduced catch

Fishermen in Kampung Sungai Kapal echoed these views.

Seng Kwee Teck, 40, said he understands that relocation may be the only way out for the residents. As such, they will fight for adequate compensation.

The father of three said the owners of nine fishing boats should get RM300,000-500,000 per boat, to ensure that they have a decent income after relocation.

"If you want our land, give us sufficient compensation and we will leave happily, and there will be no trouble,” said Seng.

“The compensation is only for nine boats, not a huge amount, just peanuts.”

Seng, who claimed he has had to give up fishing because of the poor recent catch, said the quantity of fish and lobsters has halved.

Hong Beng Kei (right), 66, said that his son used to get 50-60 lobsters daily in the past, but has caught nothing over the past two weeks.

The dwindling catch has hit local seafood restaurants as well. Operators had been enjoying better business after the opening of the Senai-Desaru Highway allowed more tourists to visit Pengerang.

Pengerang is famous for its seafood, especially small lobsters which attract Singaporean tourists, who arrive in numbers on weekends and during school holidays.

The small coastal town, dubbed the 'home of lobsters', is located about 80km from Singapore and 110km from Johor Baru. It serves as a customs and immigration post.