GEORGE TOWN — Residents living along Karpal Singh Drive at Jelutong have urged Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to dismiss the suggested 70-acre coastal reclamation project, which is linked to the rehabilitation of the nearby Jelutong landfill after expressing concerns that the project is both unnecessary and harmful to the environment.
AD Chandrasekaran, who leads the Protect Karpal Singh Drive action committee set up by local residents, said that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report from the developer overseeing the project indicated that the landfill can be removed and rehabilitated without requiring additional land outside the current site.
Chandrasekaran mentioned that although the community recognises the pressing need to deal with the long-standing issues of the landfill that has been in operation for many years, the developer’s proposal to take back a large section of the coastline near Karpal Drive to install large recycling equipment is an extreme and unwarranted action.
This approach contradicts established scientific knowledge and successful examples from around the world.
“The developer’s own EIA report confirms Phase 1 (WP1) can occur within the existing 90-acre landfill site,” he said in a press statement.
“This crucial detail undermines the argument for an immediate 70-acre expansion. Extending timelines to 5–10 years would allow phased processing, eliminating the need for 70 acres of reclamation.
“(Additionally), globally recognised best practices in landfill management, including landfill mining, modular recycling technologies, and in-situ reclamation, offer demonstrably effective alternatives that can minimise or eliminate the need for such an extensive reclamation.”
Chandrasekaran also implores Chow to “champion a truly sustainable and innovative approach” by initiating an immediate and comprehensive review of the proposed reclamation project.
This review, he said, should involve the affected community, independent geotechnical experts, civil engineers who specialise in landfill rehabilitation and environmental scientists.
In 2020, the state government and Penang Development Corporation (PDC) signed a deal with PLB Engineering Bhd to rehabilitate and develop the Jelutong landfill at a cost of RM1 billion, FMT reported.
In a Facebook post on Feb 2, the Environment Department (DoE) issued a public notice for the proposed rehabilitation and reclamation project, which it estimated would take four to five years to complete.
The plan covers about 65ha in total, comprising some 36ha for landfill rehabilitation and the rest for reclamation.
The department said the reclaimed land, located north of the landfill and adjacent to Karpal Singh Drive, would serve as a working zone for waste sorting, recycling, and environmental restoration.
Members of the public were invited to inspect the EIA from Feb 6 to Mar 7, with written feedback to be submitted by them by Mar 22.
However, the Protect Karpal Singh Drive action committee claimed that they were unaware of the Mar 22 deadline and called upon the authorities to extend the feedback period to Apr 30.
On Monday, an environment department official reportedly said it would extend the period for another 14 days to Apr 5. — March 26, 2025