Residents’ group asks why Jelutong reclamation plan grew from 4ha to 28ha

 ProtectKarpal committee says the state government must explain why the proposed project has grown seven-fold since the agreement was signed in 2020.

Protect Karpal Singh Drive Action Committee said PLB Engineering Bhd’s revised tender in July 2016 had not proposed any sea reclamation.

PETALING JAYA:

A residents’ group has questioned the proposed reclamation for the Jelutong landfill rehabilitation project from an initial 4ha to 28ha.

Protect Karpal Singh Drive Action Committee (ProtectKarpal) said the area appears to be intended mainly for processing and recycling excavated waste rather than securing the landfill perimeter as required under the project agreement.

The committee said the joint development agreement (JDA) only allowed additional reclamation where it was necessary to secure the perimeter for the rehabilitation works.

It said the displayed environmental impact assessment (EIA) appeared to indicate that almost all of the proposed 28ha would be used for processing and recycling excavated waste.

“A need for waste-processing space does not, by itself, establish a need for perimeter security,” it said in a statement.

ProtectKarpal said Clause 1.1.1 of the JDA defined the “Additional Area” as land the developer rehabilitates beyond the existing area, but only “as required and approved by the relevant authorities to secure the perimeters for the purpose of the developer carrying out and completing the rehabilitation works only”.

This meant that the state government should only approve additional reclamation that could be shown to be necessary for perimeter security, rather than allowing the full 28ha.

The group said PLB Engineering Bhd’s revised tender in July 2016 had proposed no sea reclamation.

It said that when the JDA was signed in February 2020, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow had told the public that “up to 10 acres (4ha) of additional land would be reclaimed for embankment works and parameter wall”.

The figure had since increased to 28ha in the EIA put on public display in February 2025.

“This is seven times what the chief minister described five years earlier,” it said.

ProtectKarpal also warned against using waste recovered from the Jelutong landfill as fill material for the reclamation, saying this could risk creating another landfill along the reclaimed coastline.

It said describing the material as “recycled” did not establish that it was environmentally safe for marine reclamation and called for independent evidence that the fill was suitable.

ProtectKarpal said the state government had an option to terminate the JDA under Clause 18.1, which allows termination with at least 30 days’ notice if the state considers it necessary in the state interest, for state security, or for government or public policy.

It said the state should explain publicly if it anticipated compensation or other legal consequences from terminating the agreement.

The RM1 billion project involves rehabilitating the old Jelutong landfill and reclaiming 28.3ha of coastal land beside Karpal Singh Drive.

The landfill, about 3km from George Town’s heritage centre, has been used since the early 1970s, with only construction debris and garden waste allowed there since 2002.

Residents have previously called for the reclamation to be dropped, saying the original plan was to rehabilitate the landfill and provide green space.

The state has said the reclaimed land is needed to sort and recycle waste from the landfill before the site is cleaned up and developed. - FMT