The indigenous Seletar people, also known as the sea people, have traditionally lived in boathouses in the sheltered waters along the Johor Straits.

In the 1970s, they were resettled on land, living in squatter houses along the mangrove fringe where they continued harvesting the abundance of sea resources in the narrow but productive Johor Straits.

But with the rise of the Iskandar Development, mangroves along the southern Johor coast were ravaged to make way for luxury residential areas, resorts, marinas, highways and industrial sites.

At Kampung Bakar Batu ( comparative maps below ), the village is fronted by million dollar bungalows which were reclaimed on what used to be the Seletar people’s fishing grounds – Danga Island. Polluted waters that killed fishes are washed down from the project site.

The villagers received no compensation nor did they know how to solicit for it. Such a scenario is also taking place, albeit to varying degrees, at the other seven Seletar settlements.

It is impossible that the Iskandar Malaysia developer is oblivious to the future of the sea people. Although some food, clothes and basic necessities have been distributed to the sea people as part of the Iskandar Malaysia regular CSR activity, surely this is not enough and cannot be sustained.

Untill some solid program to sustain the livelihood of the sea people is established, “invest, work, live and play” and “we care for the environment” are at best to be viewed as shameless remarks of the Iskandar Malaysia missions that mask the real situation.

Images courtesy of the writer.