Parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said it is odd that local elected representatives are unaware of the planned reclamation project off the shore of Muar in Johor, and he called for better consultation.
"It's odd. The project is within the constituency but the elected representatives have been unaware. It showed there is confusion and signs of a lack of transparency.
"It clearly reflects the government's faulty policy, with no consultation and no concern for the people's welfare - regardless of whether if they're with Umno or Bersatu," he told journalists after a ceramah in Paloh last night.
Anwar said this in reference to the royalty-linked Maharani Energy Gateway project, which will see the creation of three man-made islands to host oil and gas as well as shipping facilities.
The project is expected to, among others, impact local fishermen and mangroves along the shoreline.
Anwar, who is the Pakatan Harapan chairperson and PKR president, said there needs to be better consultation with the local community.
The Maharani Energy Gateway aims to create an energy hub and deepsea port which involves the creation of three man-made islands covering an area of 1,295 hectares, which will be about a quarter of the size of Putrajaya.
The incumbent local assemblypersons in the area - Maharani's Nor Hayati Bachok and Bentayan's Ng Yak Howe - said they were not consulted prior to the EIA process and only caught wind of it recently.
"We urge the government and developer to engage us as the stakeholders representing the people. A mega project on this scale would have surely taken a long time to plan before it reached the stage of displaying the EIA report for public viewing.
"Throughout our tenure as assemblypersons since May 2018, no information about the project have been channelled to our offices," Nor Hayati and Ng said in a statement.
Johor ruler the majority shareholder
The project is owned by Maharani Energy Gateway Sdn Bhd (MEGSB) which was incorporated on March 25 last year.
MEGSB is 55 percent owned by the royalty-linked D Marine Industries Sdn Bhd while the remaining 45 percent stake is held by K Energy Sdn Bhd.
The majority shareholder in D Marine Industries is Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, with a 70 percent stake, while the other 30 percent is held by Daing A Malek Daing A Rahaman.
Under the share structure for Maharani Energy Gateway, the Johor ruler controls an effective stake of 38.5 percent, the highest among all stakeholders. Daing A Malek has an effective stake of 16.5 percent.
K Energy's 45 percent stake gives their equal co-owners Eric Ong Zong Ren and Valerie Ong Huei Zhen an effective control of 22.5 percent each. - Mkini
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