In the Shadow of Pengerang 12 September 2012 | Green-World | Posted by Hee JW On the southeastern tip of Johor, there is a small town with big story: Pengerang. On May 13, 2012 the Johor government officially flagged off a Refinery And Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang – a project that involves an investment of MYR60 Billion and a capacity to refine 300,000 barrels of imported crude oil. One of the investors of the RAPID project, KuoKuang Petrochemical company had finally ended their long running saga at Taiwan, signing an agreement with Malaysia’s Johor state government to invest in the RAPID project. RAPID project is estimated to acquire 22,500 acres of land affecting 4 Chinese Cemeteries, 7 Villages, 11 Chinese Temples and 2 Schools are told to be relocated. Affected people would be relocated in stages, with the first batch set to move in March next year consisting of 3 villages: Sg. Kapal, Teluk Empang and Langkah Baik. The quantum of compensation has still not yet been announced until today. Citing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study, conducted by Taiwan Chung Hsing University’s environmental engineering department, Prof. Tsuang Ben Jei in 2010, showed that the average life span of people islandwide will decrease by 23 days if the KuoKuang Petrochemical Project was to be launched in Taiwan: Full story here. The RAPID Project is much more bigger. The only reasonable inference is that this means the damage will be serious. But Pengerang’s villagers are being relocated to a new location merely within a 5km radius away.
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At the tip of Sg. Rengit. Rainy day on a wooden pier at Pengerang. Some piers at Pengerang. Almost every historical city has a geographical symbol that conjures up the trauma of its people. For Pengerang, it is a silver lobster monument placed at Sg. Rengit, right in the heart of Pengerang. From afar, the town by the seaside is remarkable graceful, the sky painted in blue and sea cover in shades of green. Pengerang’s main source of income is reaped from agriculture and fishery, and some run local businesses mainly in the tourism industry and restaurants. Fishermen here need not venture far into the vast ocean foraging for seafood, especially because spiny lobsters congregate in the shallows to spawn. Farmers invested their entire life into plantations, and now, the fruits are finally repaying their commitment. But all were told to relocate, not only affecting their lifestyle but their source of income too! Such rich land, suffers from catastrophe.
. Fisherman foraging fish and lobsters at bay.Villagers passing time at local “community club”. Enjoying its sea breeze.