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Fishermen irked by mysterious Johor “island”

A mysterious island has been discovered, located off Tanjung Kupang, Johor and is a result of an unidentified land reclamation project.

Lim Kit Siang accompanied by Johor State Assemblyman for Pengkalan Rinting, Cheo Yee How, and Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PAS and PKR who visited the island on 15 February believes that Johor Mentri Besar Khaled Nordin has no knowledge of  the island which does not appear on any map in the country.

The Island is expected to be 10 or 20 times bigger than its present size when it is fully completed.

The resulting pollution from this massive island project has killed an estimated 10 tonnes of fish that include snapper, grouper, threadfin and mangrove jack. The 250 fishermen in the area were not consulted or informed of this undertaking that directly affects their livelihood.

“The greatest mystery and scandal is nobody in the government could throw light on the massive land reclamation project off the coast of Tanjong Kupang, raising serious questions about the efficiency and performance of the Khaled state government”, said Kit Siang.

“Why had the fishermen, villagers and fish farm operators not been consulted and their views sought before the mysterious massive land-reclamation works started?”, he asks.

Kit Siang calls on Khaled Nordin to lead a study tour of all Johor State Assembly members to the new island Pulau Ubah to understand the serious threat to the eco-system caused by mysterious massive land reclamation.

He added that relevant departments should brief the victims of the mysterious massive land reclamation projects on the ambiguities of the island project, and until this is done, Khaled should order an immediate stop work on all land reclamation works.

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