It was a 3 and a half hour journey from Muar to Pengarang. But it’s one that I gladly took and looking forward to come again. The sun was just rising from the horizon when we started the drive. The view just before reaching the town centre was superb. Coconut trees were swaying with the breeze and gentle waves were hitting the endless stretch of shoreline. But just how long will this beautiful scene last?
It was a last minute decision to embark on this journey. I was attending a conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday with our MP Bakri Er Teck Hwa when he was informed over the phone that Kuo Kuang Petrol Chemical is going to hold a surprise DEIA dialogue with the villagers. They were fuming mad over the phone as the whole incident sounded and looked like an ambush. Not only is due notice not given to villagers, the existence of a public dialogue is only known to a small group of Malay kampong dwellers.
As fishy as it sounds, the idea of having lobster feast for lunch was too tempting for us, we might as well see for ourselves just how far our government is willing to betray the villagers’ wish.
The scene that greeted us was not one that is pleasant when we arrived at the venue of the dialogue. The speaker was shouting at the top of her voice while the villagers were chanting “batal, batal, batal”. At another corner, two Chinese villagers can be seen pleading with the Taiwanese representatives to abandon the project. The atmosphere was intense with villagers outnumbered representatives from the consultant firm doing the DEIA and Kuo Kuang Petrol Chemical. But the reverse is true in this case. Villagers are like little ants waiting to be crushed to death by the huge machinery of the corporate giants with the help of state government. They are vocal for they are helpless.
Finally after much negotiations, the dialogue was pushed back another week to 19th May 2013 to allow more villagers to participate. This cannot be seen as the little victory for them as many fundamental questions remained unanswered.
Is the right and wish of the villagers involved being well respected by the corporate giants and state government? Have the voices of the people heard?
What will happen to the 100 over houses build on “borrowed” land? Does the authority know that villagers in this part of Malaysia are so kind that they allow others to settle on their land regardless of their races free of charge?
What will happen to the fisherman and farmers after losing their means of living? Loss of land though not enough is quantified and compensated. What about economic loss?
Why is state government acquiring more land than it should and does it make a profit in the expense of poor villagers?
On what grounds our government invite corporate giants that were rejected by their own countries for environmental concern?
I went to Pengarang not just as the state assemblyman of Bentayan but equally so as a concerned citizen of Malaysia and anak Johor. In the name of development, the state and federal government must place more emphasis on taking care of the weak and helpless villagers of Pengarang over the economic benefits of corporate giants. Foreign companies come and go after they have reaped the fruits of huge profit made possible with tax free status and cheap local labour. But the citizen of Pengarang are here to stay for generations to come. They are also to bear the consequences of any environmental and social impact brought on by this “development”. Let me take this opportunity to remind myself and all the newly elected representatives of state and federal government. We are voted to represent the views of the people. Let the voice of people be heard!
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