New port? Revive abandoned projects first, Malacca govt told

 

The Malacca state government should focus on completing existing projects to avoid delayed and abandoned work before planning new mega-developments, said Sungai Udang state assemblyperson Mohd Aleef Yusof.

He was referring to the deep-sea port project that has garnered mixed responses from politicians and environmentalist groups.

He said he would not object to any projects as they would bring great benefits to Malacca. However, he expressed his disappointment that there were many abandoned and unfinished developments in the state.

“The way I see it, Malacca has a lot of big projects like Pulau Melaka and in Bandar Melaka, we have a lot of abandoned projects such the monorail which has yet to be recovered.

“Therefore, the state government should revive all these projects first before thinking of new mega projects,” he said in a statement today.

Aleef (above) underlined that the deep-sea port project will affect the marine ecosystem and would threaten the income of fisherfolk.

He also said the project itself will take years to finish and claimed there was a high risk of it being left uncompleted as well.

The Bersatu lawmaker said he accepts any efforts made to advance the state of Malacca and its people but stressed that the state government needed to gain the people’s trust before attempting any mega proposals.

Earlier this week, Malaysiakini reported that there was another massive Malacca reclamation project in the works - a deep-sea port that is part of the Malacca Waterfront Economic Corridor (M-WEZ).

Political parties and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called for the project to be halted as it would have severe impacts on the marine environment of Malacca.

Their concerns were also echoed by Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong who wanted the Environment Department to reject the proposal, saying that the state did not need another troubled reclamation project. - Mkini