Malaysia could lose nearly all of its fish production in south-west Johor if reclamation works like the one in the Forest City project is allowed to proceed, warned the Johor Pakatan Rakyat Research Centre (Joprec).

This amounts to 12 percent of the value Malaysia’s fish production, said its chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau, while the think-tank’s report cites a figure of RM1.7 billion a year.

Boo said there is already a 1.5 kilometre causeway cutting across the Merambung seaweed meadow to bring materials for the project.

“The Forest City area is a port limit area because the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) is there, so there isn’t supposed to be fishing there.

“But the (seaweed) meadow actually supports the fish populations up to Sungai Pulai. The fish would produce their eggs upstream in Sungai Pulai, and then they would swim down to the sea meadow to feed there,” Boo explained.

He was speaking to reporters after heading a Joprec delegation to meet Department of Environment director-general Halimah Hassan and present its feedback to the Forest City detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report.

Also present at the two-hour meeting were Bakri MP Er Teck Hwa, Mengkibol assemblyperson Tan Hong Pin and Green Earth Society president P Sivakumar, among others.

Apart from Forest City, there is also another reclamation work in the area by Benalec Holdings Bhd.

'A third of the mangrove swamps to be cleared'

Asked on how did he arrive at the 12 percent figure, Boo said it is based on the Johor State Economic Planning Unit’s annual report figures for fish production in the area encompassing Pulau Kukup, Tanjung Piai, and Sungai Pulai.

In addition to the reclamation works, Boo said about a third of the 9,126-hectare mangrove swamps in Sungai Pulai would be cleared for development.

As for the locals, Boo (right) said the DEIA report is silent on the fate of Seletar aborigines at Kampung Simpang Arang, who are dependent on the fisheries to make a living.

He said issues such as resettlement, compensation, and ways to enable them to continue their traditional lifestyle are not being addressed.

“There are 1,200 of them in the whole world and they have a very unique culture of living on the sea and depending on fishing for a livelihood...

“Malaysia is a signatory of the (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples). We hope the government will address their problem as soon as possible,” he stressed.

Other concerns raised regarding the Forest City DEIA report include:
  • Possible deterioration of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and Singapore due to trans-boundary pollution;
     
  • DEIA not accounting for the capacities of existing water, sewage and waste disposal infrastructures, especially once other development projects have been built;
     
  • Computer models of water flows needed to predict soil erosion, but have not been provided;
     
  • Aesthetic value of the Forest City not having been assessed;
     
  • Inadequate flood, storm and climate change predictions in the report; and
     
  • Loss of income for local fishers - about 101 families - need to be taken into account and given compensation.
Asked of Halimah’s response, Boo said the former will be referring some of the issues to other agencies first - such as the Johor state government on socio-economic issues, for example.