BALIK PULAU, June 16 — The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry does not rule out the possibility of asking the Department of Environment (DOE) to disapprove the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Penang South Islands (PSI) project, formerly known as Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

Its deputy minister II, Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi, said it was among the roles that could be taken by the ministry considering the adverse effect of the project, especially on the country’s fishery production.

“There is always a possibility (of asking DOE to disapprove the EMP). We will examine our roles and duty in this matter,” he told reporters after visiting the fishermen community in Sungai Batu and Teluk Kumbar here, today.

In May, Penang Infrastructure Corporation Sdn Bhd (PIC) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said a new EMP application for the PSI project would be submitted this month and hoped that the DOE could consider granting immediate approval for the EMP based on the existing guidelines.

In the meantime, Che Abdullah said discussions with several non-governmental organisations, such as the Consumers Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia, revealed that the PSI project would threaten 87 marine species such as white and silver pomfrets, red-legged prawns, tiger prawns and white prawns that bring more revenue to fishermen.

“I was also made to understand that fish landings from the areas affected by the project are 13,418.11 tonnes or 24.5 per cent of the overall landings in Penang,” he said.

Che Abdullah added that he was surprised by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow’s statement that the fish contribution from the PSI area was only two per cent of the country’s fisheries resources.

“As the chief minister, he should be working with various quarters to improve the fisheries resources and fish landings of the area,” he said.

Under the PSR project, the state government is proposing to reclaim about 1,821 hectares of the sea to build three islands south of the Penang International Airport towards the east around Permatang Damar Laut to create a land bank that will be utilised to finance the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project. — Bernama