Property Hunter Magazine September Issue 2014 | Page 106

/// West Malaysia Property News

No EIA but Johor Coastal Reclamation Projects Already Underway, Sources Claim
He also reportedly said that the DOE
would be closely monitoring the
activities carried out throughout the
duration of the project to ensure
that the environment was not
compromised.

Despite the absence of an
Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) report and a call for
intervention by Singapore, two
massive reclamation projects are
well underway in the Johor straits
that separate Malaysia and the
island republic.
The coastal reclamation work has
also raised concerns over the effect
the project will have on the coastal
eco-system and the livelihood of
fishermen in the area apart from
Malaysia’s transhipment hub in the
Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP).

The source, however, disagreed
with Ayub, saying that as of June 15,
2014, publicly available information
on the DOE web portal showed that
no EIA report, either preliminary or
detailed, was submitted by Country
Garden Pacific View Sdn Bhd for the
2,000 ha project, and by Spektrum
Kukuh Sdn Bhd for its reclamation
off Tanjung Piai.
According to the source, most
worrying of all was the coastal
reclamation work stretching over
1,817ha by Country Garden Pacific
View, dubbed the Forest City.

An environmentalist who declined
to be named questioned how work
was allowed to proceed despite
the projects being “illegal” in the
absence of the EIA report.

The plot near the second link
crossing to Singapore has also been
given a lot number, Lot PTD 4071,
Mukim Tanjung Kupang, Daerah
Johor Baru.

Several queries by The Malaysian
Insider to the Department of
Environment (DOE) on the status
of the projects, their impact on the
environment and the lack of an EIA
report have not been answered.

A company search in February
revealed that one of the directors of
Country Garden Pacific View is Datuk
Daing A. Malek Daing A. Rahaman,
who is believed to be a long-time
friend of the Sultan of Johor and is a
member of the council of the Royal
Court of Advisers to the Sultan.

Johor health and environment exco
Datuk Ayub Rahmat had told The
Malaysian Insider when contacted
that it was unlikely that no EIA
report was done for the reclamation
projects.
Nevertheless, he said that he was
waiting for a report by the state’s
Economic Planning Unit (EPU) on the
matter.
“It is improbable that there is no EIA
report if it is indeed required. Even
for the Tanjung Kupang reclamation
project, a preliminary EIA report has
been done, so it cannot be that no
such report was done for the other
reclamation projects.
“Whether it’s a big or small company
doing the project, I’m sure they
know the law so let’s not politicise
the issue until we find out the
facts and the EPU report is ready,
hopefully in a week’s time,” he had
said last week.

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China’s Country Garden Holdings Co
Ltd had undertaken its first project
in Danga Bay, which covers 20ha
of land – for which it paid RM900
million several years ago.
It was reported that Country Garden
Holdings and Kumpulan Prasarana
Rakyat Johor are jointly undertaking
the new Forest City project, which is
poised to become a tourism hub.
Two weeks ago, Johor Menteri Besar
Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin
had assured the state assembly
that the land reclamation for the
development of the Forest City
project in Iskandar Malaysia would
not affect the environment.
He had also said that the state
government had issued a notice
to the developer, Country Garden
Pacific View to prepare an action
plan to effectively clear any sediment
caused by the reclamation work.

The other reclamation project
covering 1,410ha near Tanjung Piai,
which is the southernmost tip of
continental Asia, is being undertaken
by Benalec Holdings for the purpose
of an industrial oil and gas hub.
The Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail
Idris Sultan Ibrahim and Daing A.
Malek are directors of Spektrum
Kukuh, which partnered Benalec in
the Tanjung Piai reclamation project.
“There are serious environmental
concerns here because the area
is surrounded by fishing villages,
given the rich sea grass and marine
diversity,” the source said of the
projects.
“Their livelihoods will be affected by
the coastal reclamation.”
The source questioned how the
land reclamation was allowed to
be carried out without detailed EIA
reports as required under the law
for coastal reclamation projects over
50ha in size.
This requirement is stated under the
Environmental Quality (prescribed
activities) (Environmental Impact
Assessment) Order 1987 to be read
together with the Environmental
Quality Act 1974.
The Edge Review had reported
three weeks ago that Singapore’s
diplomatic feathers had been ruffled
over concerns that the Country
Garden project would extend the
Johor coast around the Second Link
right up to the edge of the boundary
separating Malaysia from Singapore.
Media reports said Singapore Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong had
written to Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Razak to voice his concerns
over the project.
Another letter was handed to
Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department Datuk Seri Wahid Omar
when he was in Singapore recently,
according to the report.

and had said that en vironment and
water issues were state matters.
The sultan had said in his speech
that in carrying out development
work, environmental issues needed
to be given priority and that EIA
reports needed to be prepared for
development projects.
“However, there are irresponsible
quarters who use their powers
with the EIA as a weapon to stop a
development that does not benefit
them.
“For instance, the development
project by Benalec, where the MOU
was signed three years ago and
witnessed by the prime minister
himself, has yet to obtain the EIA
approval until now,” Sultan Ibrahim
Sultan Iskandar had said.
The sultan had further questioned
why certain quarters were bent
on delaying the approval, and said
that such actions only hindered the
development of the state and drove
away investors.
“Johor is for the people of Johor and
only the people know the conditions
and the needs of the state so why
are there outsiders who are trying
to interfere or even trying to teach
us what we should do in our own
state?” the sultan had asked.
The Johor ruler had also
suggested that the jurisdiction on
environmental issues be handled by
the state government because it was
related to land and water matters.
“A state environmental body should
be set up under the Johor state
enactment as what has been done
in Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak,” the
sultan had said.

China’s Country Garden
Holdings Co Ltd had
undertaken its first
project in Danga Bay,
which covers 20ha of
land – for which it paid
RM900 million several
years ago.

The Sultan of Johor, when officiating
the opening of the second session
of the state assembly last month,
had made remarks about the DOE

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