GEORGE TOWN, Nov 29 — Penang folk are pleased with the state government’s decision to scrap the Middle Bank reclamation project, which was part of the RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (TMP).

Bank officer Surianti Mustafa Ali, 37, said the decision to drop the plan is a relief for fishermen in the area.

“We have been reading news on the issue for months and the first thing that ran through my mind that time was how the project will affect the livelihood of fishermen in the area,” she said.

Liew Ting Kai, 52, said while the TMP looked promising, the Middle Bank was more important than any development project.

“I did not think the proposal to reclaim the Middle Bank was a good idea as the project would have destroyed the precious seagrass in the area.

“News of land reclamation in Middle Bank also gave the impression that development was only focused in George Town.

Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu said Middle Bank should be gazetted as an environmentally sensitive area to prevent it from being open to potential damage.

Teh, who has been advocating for the area to be preserved, said while he welcomed the state government’s decision not to proceed with plans to reclaim Middle Bank, he said the area must be protected.

“The seagrass bed is the second largest in the country. If it is not preserved, then the marine life will be harmed.”

On Friday, the state government also announced a large area of the sea in Permatang Damar Laut will be reclaimed to fund the TMP.

SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd, the company that was awarded the infrastructure project, is conducting feasibility studies of the area.

However, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said reclamation of 1,376ha of land in Permatang Damar Laut should not proceed as the area is rich in marine life.

Dr Hilmi, a former Penang deputy chief minister, said the state government should stop reclaiming land in the state.

“They had already reclaimed land in Batu Maung. If they want to focus on development, they should focus on the east coast of the island instead.”

“The area (Permatang Damar Laut) is the only area in the state which is home to several types of shell fish, including cockles. If land is reclaimed there, the cockles will no longer breed,” he said.