GEORGE TOWN, April 30 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow says there is no need to debate the issue of the Penang South Islands (PSI) project as it has gone through a long process of up to eight years before successfully obtaining the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA) on April 11.
He said the process involved stakeholders, public notifications, and other processes before obtaining the EIA approval.
“Any disputes, questions or answers regarding the PSI project have passed, even DOE and all technical agencies have also set conditions and if the state government cannot comply with the conditions, then the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) will not be approved.
“If it can be approved, it means that it (the PSI project) has gone through a thorough examination by all departments, (as only) then the DOE can issue a decision with all conditions being complied with,’” he said after attending the launch of Penang’s Wesak Day celebration here today.
He was commenting on the statement of Penang Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai, who is also Gerakan president, challenging Chow to debate the development issue of PSI and Seberang Perai.
According to Chow, the state government’s current focus is on the preparation of the implementation of the PSI project for sea reclamation processes.
“Next week, I will announce what we propose in the PSI, especially on island A, that is our focus at the moment,” he said.
He said there was no need to hold a debate with any party and if any party is not satisfied with the implementation of the project, those concerned can take the matter to court.
“Let’s look ahead, if he (Lau) didn’t take part in the process before this, I can’t say anything because this process has passed, maybe he wants to take it to court, that’s his right. But at this stage, there is no need (to debate), everyone is busy preparing for the (state) election,” he said.
On Wednesday Chow announced that the EIA for the PSI project had received conditional approval from the Putrajaya DOE in a letter dated April 11 which was based on 71 conditions stipulated, including the implementation of the project’s Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP).
PSI is a project to develop three man-made islands over an area of 1,700 hectares in the waters of Permatang Damar Laut near Bayan Lepas, but the project received objections over the years from the fishing community and environmental non-governmental organisations because it allegedly will damage the marine ecosystem.
