Kepala Batas MP Reezal Merican Naina Merican has urged the Penang government to cancel the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project as it does not command the full support of the state’s population.
Reezal Merican, who is also the youth and sports minister, said the mega sea reclamation project elicited various negative reactions and spawned two petitions calling for its cancellation.
“Therefore, as Penang Development Action Council chairperson, I will carry these objections and protests urging for the cancellation of the project to the state government soon,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He highlighted that the “Save Penang! Reject the 3 Islands Reclamation!” public petition had gained over 116,000 signatures.
Personally, he said, he never agreed with the project that was said to be able to generate the funds needed to pay for transportation projects under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).
Reezal Merican also claimed that the objection towards the project was due to its implementation that was said to not be for the PTMP transportation projects as it seemed that it had morphed into a real estate project dominated by private entities.
In addition, he claimed, the project would threaten the livelihoods of those who rely on the ocean and its bounty, destroy the marine ecosystem and biodiversity and change the flow of the seawater.
Meanwhile, Penang PAS commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff said in a separate statement that Penang PAS had always objected to the PSR project by the state government.
Muhammad Fauzi claimed the project had deviated from its original objective, and instead focused on the interests of certain parties. It also neglected environmental sustainability and marine life that was the main source of income for fishermen there.
- Bernama
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