With Gateway project stopped, what next for Melaka Portuguese?

 

Last week, the sea walloped the Portuguese Settlement in Melaka with more than a metre of water.

It occurred about the time the state government cancelled a land reclamation agreement for the RM43 billion Melaka Gateway project, which involves building three artificial islands.

The sudden, intense accumulation of water was the worst case of flooding in years at the settlement where floods have wreaked havoc several times this year.

The settlement’s vulnerability to flooding increased when the land reclamation for the mega Melaka Gateway project began more than six years ago.

Although community leaders had expressed fears of the irreversible consequences of land reclamation, work went on without ecological, adaptive and resilience frameworks.

As work progressed and the landmass grew, so did siltation and other effects such as stronger current and tide flows and tidal mutations.

News of the termination of the Melaka Gateway venture has brought little or no joy to the 1,800 people spread over nine hectares of residential land in the settlement in Ujong Pasir.

The one island reclaimed from the sea that is visible in front of the settlement is very much a reminder of the misery the Portuguese-Eurasians endured and possibly a bleak future.

Michael Singho is the leader of the Melaka Portuguese-Eurasian Association.

Michael Singho, president of the Malacca Portuguese-Eurasian Association, puts their concerns in a nutshell: “So, what will come after this?

“The ideal situation will be to return to the sea the area that was taken from it. Restore the marine expanse that was ruthlessly and selfishly robbed from the sea and from the people who derived their sustenance both materially and spiritually from it.”

Singho knows that will not happen. However, he is confident that mitigation works could “avoid further repercussions stemming from the bowels of this development monstrosity”.

Singho said the state government has an obligation to protect the people who have borne “a sense of displacement, a sense of anger, a sense of frustration and a sense of being left behind”.

The full-scale of the impact of reclamation works on the settlement has been laid bare over the years.

Singho has expressed concerns and led objections to the project from late 2013. He noted that there had been:

• frequent flash floods;
• a growing menace to the struggling ecosystem and fishing and marine activities;
• heavier siltation at the settlement and its adjacent coastlines as well as on the surrounds of the reclaimed site;
• drastic interruption of the movement of current and tides;
• flushing mechanism at almost a standstill, causing stagnated pools of polluted waters and debris from the hinterland.
• stench of dead and rotting elements that spreads from the silted surface during low tide and proves detrimental to food and beverage businesses aligning the coastline.
• declining incomes of fishermen.
• anxiety over the health of residents at the settlement and other coastal communities.
• loss of the unique intangible cultural heritage of the Malacca Portuguese .

The connection between the people and the sea is also in the balance. There are now only about 70 full-time fishermen and 50 part-timers who catch less fish and cannot park their boats near the settlement that silts up at low tide.

Festivals like Intrudu and San Pedro that involve or are related to the sea might fade away.

Already, the face of water festivals, Intrudu, has changed with the ritual of taking seawater to splash each other being replaced by the use of buckets of tap water.

With only a few fishermen left, San Pedro has lost its aura as a festival that marks the request for the blessing of decorated fishing boats and for a rich harvest by St Peter, the patron saint of fishermen.

The authorities need to address the insecurities and concerns of the people of the Portuguese Settlement, not dismiss them.

Snuffing the life out of the settlement by depriving it of its life, spirit and culture-sustaining sea will have huge consequences in years to come.

Wait. There is still a thought that it is not the end of Melaka Gateway as Singho, heaving with unease, asked: “Will this cancellation hold? What’s next?” - FMT

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.