IPOH, May 9 — Environmentalists campaigning to turn Segari Melintang into Perak’s fifth state park have been stunned by news of a proposed oil refinery in Tanjung Hantu that is within the confines.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) field officer Meor Razak Meor Abdul Rahman said the news was delivered to non-governmental organisations by state Investment and Corridor Development Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin in a Monday meeting.
Meor Razak said the proposed oil refinery project was at the site of the former Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) scheme approved by the previous Barisan Nasional government.
“The LNG project failed to take off although the company — Atigas Technology — has been diligently paying the annual premium for the land.
“During the briefing, Nizar told us another company has approached the state recently proposing that an oil refinery project be set up at the LNG site,” he said.
Speaking to Malay Mail, Meor Razak said they were told the state had proposed that the company set up the project at the Bagan Datuk or Kerian districts instead but this was rejected.
“It insisted on having the project at Tanjung Hantu. Aside from the 60ha that had been allotted to Atigas, the oil refinery company had requested for a larger area,” he added.
Questioning the company’s insistence with Tanjung Hantu that is environmentally sensitive, Meor Razak said the project — if approved — would be catastrophic for the biodiversity of Segari Melintang.
The region is classified as Environmentally Sensitive Area Rank 1 in the National Physical Plan as it is a major turtle landing area, especially for the green turtle.
Meor Razak urged the state to take back the land alienated to Atigas in order to put the matter to rest.
He noted that Tanjung Hantu was a virgin forest with a mature ecosystem still untouched by human activities.
Malay Mail previously reported that Perak’s Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah has given his approval for the Segari Melintang State Park that is set to cover Pantai Pasir Pandak-Pantai Tanjung Batu, Segari Melintang Forest Reserve and Tanjung Hantu Forest Reserve or about 3,000ha.
Currently, there are four state parks in Perak: Royal Belum, Pulau Sembilan, Taman Alam Kinta and Geopark Kinta.
