The land reclamation project location

DAP Johor’s agricultural biro has urged the state government to clarify its spending in for the Tanjong Piai Maritime Industrial Park development project which will affect the livelihood of local fishermen.

In a joint statement by DAP Johor’s Agriculture and Rural Development Biro leaders, it questioned whether the ex-gratia severance payments made to fishermen constituted an admission that the project would cause pollution and loss of economic opportunities for the fishermen.

“Firstly, why is there an ex gratia severance for these fishermen?” asked Mahdzir Ibrahim (DAP Johor’s Agriculture and Rural Development Biro Chief), Lim Eng Guan (Bekok State Assemblyman), Yeo Tung Siong (Pekan Nenas State Assemblyman) and Cheo Yee How (Pengkalan Rinting State Assemblyman) in a joint statement.

He said that an ex-gratia is paid to compensate for damages or occurrences of natural disasters – where property is destroyed).

“Therefore, the ex-gratia as stated by the minister implies that there was either a natural disaster or that the waters were polluted , which resulted in a 50 percent loss of income source for 1023 fishermen from 14 and 19 sites in Johor Bahru and Pontian respectively,” they said.

Mahdzir Ibrahim, DAP Johor’s Agriculture and Rural Development Biro Chief

Prior to this, the state government had claimed that the developer’s (Forest City and and Benelac) projects would positively impact the economy and the livelihood of the locals.

“The statement by the minister had turned comical when he referred to the ex-gratia as a ‘consolation’ to the fishermen,” they added, explaining that the ex-gratia and consolatory payments are different.

While ex-gratia has a mechanism and a specific evaluation structure, consolatory payments are given out of courtesy by the government.

“So which was it then, an ex-gratia, or a consolatory payment?” they asked.

The DAP claims that the response by the government on the matter was vague and confusing.

The issue was raised in Parliament on March 24, where Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ismail Sabri said that ex-gratia will be paid out to fishermen whose earnings are projected to be halved. This is due to the land reclamation work for the RM 600 billion mixed development Forest City and the Tanjung Piai Maritime Industrial Park projects affecting the condition of the waters, where the fishermen earn a living.

Apart from the vague clarification by Ismail Sabri, the DAP Biro questioned where the state gratia payment was taken from.

“The state government? The ministry? Or both?” they asked.

In the case that any of these parties had contributed to the ex-gratia, they said, the function of Tabung Pembangunan Nelayan (Fishery Development Fund) would come into question.

“In the case of Forest City, the state government, in July 2014, announced the setting up of the fund and estimated a collection of around RM 104 million through the RM 0.30 charge per squared feet (psf) from 3237.48 hectares,” they said.

However, in November 2014 during the Johor State Budget meeting, MB Khaled Nordin announced that RM 1.8 million would be allocated as incentives for 1800 fishermen – RM 1000 per family.

“This does not come up to even 10 percent of the RM 104 million as announced in July,” they said.

They also asked whether the Fishery Development Fund paid for the development of Tanjong Piai Maritime Industrial Park.

“Where was the ex-gratia payment as stated by the Agriculture Minister sourced from? Was it from the Fishery Development Fund?” they asked. – The Rocket