LETTER | The Protect Karpal Singh Drive Action Committee, operating under the Bandar Sri Pinang Pulau Pinang Residents Association, is demanding answers before the Penang government meets on May 20 to decide the fate of the long-stalled Jelutong landfill reclamation project.
This is after today’s report confirmed that developer PLB Engineering Berhad is seeking an Extension of Time (EOT) despite Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow’s own public pledge that no extension would be granted if environmental approval was not secured by February 26, a deadline that expired 71 days ago.
State exco member Jason H’ng Mooi Lye reportedly confirmed today that PLB Engineering Berhad will apply to the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) for an EOT, with a state exco decision on May 20.
ProtectKarpal’s response is direct: an EOT is an extension - regardless of the label. The chief minister’s pledge on June 24, 2025 was unconditional. The Environment Department (DOE) has rejected the project a fifth time. Granting more time is, in every material sense, the extension that the CM said he would not grant.
According to ProtectKarpal chairperson Dr K Ganesh:
“The CM’s words were clear. Five rejections later, the government is discussing working papers instead of honouring a commitment it made to this community. We need to hear - in public, before May 20 - how an EOT is consistent with that pledge.”
The report notes that PLB is proposing to add a public recreational park component. ProtectKarpal’s response: a park on this site is not a developer concession - it is what DAP leaders promised residents since 2008.
The then Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, who served as the chief of staff to the then Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, promised it publicly in 2009.
Chow, who was then an exco, called it a gift to future generations in 2012. A park alongside 70 acres of sea reclamation is not a compromise. It is the same rejected project in greener packaging.
What we demand before May 20:
Honour the pledge: Chow must state publicly whether the EOT is consistent with his June 24, 2025 commitment - and if so, how.
Release the rejection letters: Disclose all five DOE rejection notifications sent to the state government, including full stated grounds - as requested in ProtectKarpal’s unanswered letter of April 21, 2026.
Include the community: Provide residents a formal written submission channel to the exco before - not after - May 20.
“We are not against development. We never have been. We are against a 70-acre sea reclamation plan that the DOE has rejected five times, that the developer never proposed in 2016, and that the community never endorsed. Remove the reclamation. Build the park you promised. That is all,” Ganesh said.
PROTECTKARPAL is a resident-led civic body, operating under the auspices of the Bandar Sri Pinang Pulau Pinang (PBSP) Residents Association, and advocates for transparent governance, evidence-based environmental policy, and the protection of community health and ecological integrity in Penang.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
