As Nurul Izzah Anwar joins the critics, could Penang South Reclamation project be stopped?

Malaysia’s severe Covid-19 situation may be front and centre of public attention, but in the northern state of Penang, state administrators are contending with a separate headache as a debate against a multibillion-dollar island-building plan once again rears its head.

Environmentalists contend that the 4,500 acre blueprint for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, also known as BiodiverCity, will have a devastating impact on marine ecology and insist it is not necessary given vast tracts of land available elsewhere.

The critics also say that amid widespread work-from-home practices – spurred on by the Covid-19 pandemic – demand for office space is likely to diminish, thereby rendering commercial developments on the project white elephants.

The project comprises three islands and is situated to the south of Penang island, best known as a tourist haven with its sandy beaches, the historic commercial hub Georgetown and its varied cuisine.

The state of Penang comprises Penang island and a larger area on Peninsular Malaysia.

The PSR’s chief champion has been the ethnic Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party (DAP) that governs Penang.

Leaders such as Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow say the project will create job opportunities, draw investment and, through a deal with developers, fund a new public transport network.

Officials had said they expected dredging works on the first island to begin imminently with the first dredgers arriving by this month, and critics had accepted the creation of the new islands as a fait accompli – until last week.

In a surprise move dubbed by local observers as a “bombshell” dropped on the DAP-led government, one of Penang’s political heavyweights, Nurul Izzah Anwar, on May 31 said she no longer backed the project.

Writing on her blog, the lawmaker – eldest daughter of the country’s national opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim – urged the federal government to revoke approvals granted for the project.

Nurul Izzah said the project had to be cancelled “in view of immediate needs of the [Covid-19] pandemic and in the effort to preserve Penang’s valuable fishing ground, the livelihood of fishermen and overall food security”.

“I have no choice but to voice this objection publicly in the hopes that the reclamation project is terminated and is replaced with a truly sustainable economic rejuvenation plan – more in line with the need to build back better and greener in a globally recovering post-pandemic world,” wrote Nurul Izzah, the lawmaker for Permatang Pauh, a constituency in mainland Penang.

Activists, who have criticised the Penang state government for only giving lip service to their feedback, cheered Nurul Izzah’s position.

Some groups say the politician’s high standing within the Pakatan Harapan alliance – which the DAP is part of – could mean the project’s future is no longer guaranteed.

The DAP has governed Penang since 2008 and was part of the federal ruling alliance from 2018 until last year, when Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin seized power in a political coup against Pakatan Harapan.

Meenakshi Raman, president of Sahabat Alam Malaysia [Friends of the Environment Malaysia], said Penang’s DAP-led government had been adamant on “bulldozing” the project through despite the reservations of various groups and worrying findings of an environmental impact assessment the authorities themselves commissioned.

The environmentalist said the island-building would be “more devastating” than the U$100 billion Forest City – another controversial reclamation project in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor. That project, spanning 4,300 acres, is bankrolled by Chinese investors and has been in the works since 2012.

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“Lessons are not being learned and this is not just by Penang state but also by other state governments including in Melaka and Kedah,” said Meenakshi.

“There is a land reclamation mania which is going on, being pushed by big corporations which are destructive and on the lofty claims of attracting investments from abroad.”

Echoing these views was Salma Khoo Nasution of the Penang Forum, a coalition of civil society groups based in Penang.

“What we are seeing is a new phenomenon of island reclamation which was made fashionable by Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah islands,” Khoo said. “This is the wet dream of politicians who want to make money out of nothing, and without the planning permission obstacles presented in cases involving the obliteration of public waterfronts.”

The DAP-led Penang government, for its part, has sought to present an image of composure amid the new onslaught of criticism against the PSR.

It has continued to reiterate that the state’s growth could be stunted without the development opportunities that would come with the PSR – especially given how assistance is not forthcoming from Muhyiddin’s federal administration.

It also has pushed back against environmentalists by pointing to ex gratia payments that would be made to fishermen as well as the use of natural and recyclable material for developments on the islands. Each of the islands is expected to house 15,000 people.

More crucially, state authorities have pitched the project as key to funding a 46 billion ringgit (US$11 billion) transport master plan that includes new highways and a light rail transit system.

The PSR is being developed by a private contractor, but the state government’s plan is to use the returns for its share of land sales to fund the transport network.

Zairil Khir Johari, a member of the Penang state government’s executive council, told This Week in Asia Nurul Izzah’s comments were made based on “misguided advice” and added that local authorities were ready to brief her and “even introduce her to real active fishermen who will be affected so she can hear for herself”.

“Her concerns over the project’s financial risks, fishermen’s welfare, environmental impact, and the timeliness to carry out the project have all been taken into account by the Penang state government,” said Zairil, the state’s infrastructure and transport committee chairman.

The DAP politician also took aim at federal government ministers who have criticised the reclamation in recent weeks.

“[Federal ministers] do not appear to have any qualms whatsoever towards the reclamation projects in Perikatan Nasional-led states such as Kedah, Johor, Terengganu, Kelantan and Melaka,” Zairil said, referring to Muhyiddin’s coalition.

He said the National Physical Planning Council, chaired by Muhyiddin, had recently approved a development project in Melaka – governed by the ruling alliance – which included 11,080 acres of coastal reclamation.

Said Zairil: “Why is it we do not hear a single squeak from these ministers? Where is their concern for social and environmental issues in this project which is bigger than Penang’s? Their silence in this case is deafening and proves that Penang is being victimised for none other than political reasons.”

The reclamation project’s critics say the Penang state government’s adamance in the face of across-the-board reservations over the plan suggested it was tone deaf to public sentiment as economic hardships hit hard amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kiu Jia Yaw, deputy co-chair of the Malaysian Bar Council Environment and Climate Change Committee, said it was “disappointing” that the Penang state government had not reflected on how the Covid-19 pandemic would require it to alter its priorities.

“It is high time governments and planners realise that the overdraft mentality to economic development to destroy first, make money then perhaps fix some of it is not only grossly inefficient, but inequitable,” he said. “Well-being cannot be purchased with economic wealth alone. It cannot be achieved if we continue to perpetuate patterns of growth that are fundamentally unjust.”

This article was first published in South China Morning Post.