Penang Umno assemblymen are peeved that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wants to continue with land reclamation in the Penang Channel - dubbed an ecological wonder -  despite stiff opposition to the project.

State development agency Penang Development Corporation has invited proposals for the project which involves the reclamation of 1,500 acres of land along the Penang Channel.

At the state legislative assembly sitting yesterday, Lim had reportedly said that the reclamation project was approved by BN during its rule and is part of the state government’s proposed RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan.

“So, you are no better than BN,” state opposition leader Jahara Hamid said to Lim when they met at the dining hall of the state assembly building today.

Accompanying Jahara ( photo ) was Shariful Azhar Othman (BN-Bertam) who said if the DAP-led administration was no better than BN, it would be better to let the BN coalition rule Penang again.

“People voted you in to make changes which benefit them. Why are there no changes made? It seems as long as it benefits them, the state is willing to follow BN,” Shariful added.

“The reclamation project was opposed by many including NGOs […] Lim should listen to the people who voted him in (since 2008),” he said.

DAP assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu (DAP-Tanjung Bungah) in his address to the assembly yesterday urged the state to drop the project and preserve the area as a marine park.

Teh, an environmental activist, had previously led a team of reporters to visit the Penang Channel's middle bank to raise awareness on the significance of the area.

'Cleaner, Greener Penang'?

Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah (BN-Teluk Bahang) in his speech today said the reclamation  project was “shocking” as the area targeted was roughly twice the size of Pulau Jerejak, the former penal colony island on the southern tip of Penang.

Shah Headan said the reclamation of the middle bank would alter the map of the island into “a shape we do not know yet”.

“The look of the map may be secondary but the impact of the project is very significant as it involves 125 acres of ecological biodiversity, home to all kinds of sealife,” he said.

Shah Headan said the reclamation project would also affect the island’s fisherfolk community.

“The Penang Inland Fishermen’s Welfare Association which represents about 10,000 members said that they would face a big problem with this project,” he said.

“The advantage of having the middle bank in Penang is what makes the island qualified to be a marine conservation area in line with its slogan a 'Cleaner, Greener Penang',” he pointed out.