GEORGE TOWN, July 27 — Fishermen here are complaining that their compensation for reclamation works off Gurney Drive and Tanjung Tokong are inadequate to cover the loss of livelihood they have suffered.
The group include around 200 offshore fishermen from Tanjung Tokong, Gurney Drive and Paramount Jetty, who said they now barely make any catch off the coast due to the reclamation works.
“Previously, if we are to go from zero to two nautical miles off Tanjung Tokong, there are plenty of prawns and fishes for us but now, we hardly get anything and we can’t go deeper because we are not deep-sea fishermen,” said Tanjung Tokong fisherman Mohd Shariff Abdul, duriang a press conference at Penang Barisan Nasional (BN) headquarters here today.
He said they are all offshore fishermen with small boats that could not go further out to sea in search of better hauls.
Paramount jetty fisherman S. Selvaraju, 60, claimed that the jetty has been used by reclamation works contractors to load and unload their equipments, which prevented fishermen from going into sea.
“We have also been warned by the contractors not to go near the reclamation areas off Tanjung Tokong or Gurney Drive, otherwise they will take away our nets,” he alleged.
They further claimed they were deceived into receiving their compensation, alleging they were told to attend a ceremony in July 2015 to receive a “saguhati (consolation)” payment.
Penang BN vice chairman Oh Tong Keong said the fishermen were paid between RM1,000 and RM15,000 each.
“Their livelihoods are affected, this is not enough. What they want are new boats and nets so that they can go into deeper sea to earn an income,” he said.
He claimed the fishermen have sent several demand letters to the authorities and the land reclamation developer for a meeting to resolve their issues, but were ignored.
“I urge the state government to work with the affected fishermen to come up with a mechanism to fairly compensate them,” he said.
In an immediate response, Eastern & Oriental Berhad Development and Construction Management general manager Datuk Zawawi Yusop said there was ongoing engagement with the fishermen community within the project vicinity since they took over the partially reclaimed project.
Tanjung Pinang Development Sdn Bhd (TPD), a subsidiary of Eastern & Oriental Berhad, took over the partially reclaimed project in 2003.
“TPD has been contributing to the fishermen community within the scope that we are required by law and beyond,” he said in a statement today.
He confirmed an ex gratia payment to 152 affected fishermen and 61 assisting crew members on July 3, 2015.
He said TPD also helped 40 eligible fishermen and 15 crew members who were not in the initial list to make an appeal to the authority and a second ex-gratia payment took place on October 31 in 2015.
He stressed that the ex gratia amount and eligible fishermen were determined by state authorities and Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM).
“A total of RM2.467 million was paid by TPD,” he said.
He said the fishermen are also constantly updated on the reclamation activities through their SMS alert protocol.
“This is to ensure the compliance of safety regulations within the designated reclamation work zone,” he said.
He said the fishing community has also accepted contributions such as TPD’s schooling supplies for deserving school students, support for festive celebrations, open houses, and others over the years amounting to over RM4.3 million.
“Upon receiving further demand letters, we have also assisted to arrange for several meetings between the fishermen committee and relevant authorities to address their concerns,” he said.
Zawawi said the company approved an allocation to build a breakwater, a jetty, boat moorings and tool shed as suggested by the Department of Fisheries.
“After several rounds of discussions, TPD is awaiting for confirmation on the various designs of those facilities that should be collectively agreed by the fishermen before a decision is made to start works,” he said.
