The land reclamation is part of the state government’s Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone project to be built on 6,070ha of reclaimed land from Umbai to Tanjung Bruas.
An online petition was launched by a “Melaka coastline protection committee” calling on the federal government to intervene and stop the project. It has garnered more than 20,000 signatures so far.
Before the movement control order (MCO) was imposed nationwide, a small group of artists worked with residents to set up “benches” made of wooden pallets and reclaimed pieces of wood at the beach in Kampung Hailam.
Farris Aziz, 34, was among the artists who built and painted these wooden structures before setting them up on the beach.
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Having been drawn into the craft seven years ago, he leapt at the opportunity after Tan Loon Kah, a resident working with NGOs and other groups to halt the reclamation, approached him for the project.
The goal was simple: to raise greater awareness among the local community and the public about the major land reclamation that was going to take place off Melaka’s shores.
“I used to go for picnics at the beach or just hang out at the seaside. Often, I would go to Pantai Puteri in Tanjung Kling to cycle along the beach or just to swim. I hope they’ll stop the reclamation to save the sea, ecosystem and environment. This is our heritage, after all,” said Farris, who moved to Melaka with his family when he was in Form 5.
“Even now we can see the effects of previous reclamation work: floods here and there and trees falling and soil erosion. If they go ahead with this, I don’t know what will happen in the future,” he told FMT.
The benches have several designs, with Tan’s two children also lending their creative spark to the paintings, while QR codes pasted on the wooden decorative pieces led people to the petition on Change.org.
The benches have the words “Melaka Sea Matters” and “Sayangi Laut Melaka” (Love the Melaka Sea) spray-painted over them, while one of the pieces had the painting of a turtle saying “Jangan Lah!”
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The eye-catching art pieces quickly drew the attention of beachgoers, with many taking pictures of, and with, the structures and posting them on social media. The pieces are still there.
“It’s a peaceful way to protest and raise awareness among people about what’s going to happen to their beach and their city. I would say the artworks were helpful as the signatures for the petition went up a bit after they were put up,” Farris said.
With the MCO entering its third week now, Tan admitted to FMT that the petition had lost some momentum with the number of signatures plateauing.
However, once the lockdown relaxes, Farris and his troops will be looking to set up more artworks protesting the reclamation in other locations, including the more popular Klebang beach.
“Right now we can’t hit the hotspots in Melaka, like Klebang beach, but after the MCO is over, we will be going there,” he said, adding that most of these new structures were already completed.
The Melaka government signed a deal with LBS Bina Group Bhd in April for the reclamation and development of some 485ha in Tanjung Bruas. The group signed the agreement through its subsidiary Leaptec Engineering Sdn Bhd.
The deal is said to be part of the first phase of the Melaka-Waterfront Economic Zone (M-WEZ) project which residents have been opposing over concerns of its potential impact on the environment and community.
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Residents had raised their concerns to former chief minister Adly Zahari, who promised to limit reclamation in the future. However, that seemed to have changed with the new government.
Meanwhile, LBS Bina had said M-WEZ was part of the Melaka State Structure Plan 2035, adding that the relevant studies and a public hearing process had been carried out before it was gazetted.
“Hence, all concerns should have already been raised and addressed during the public hearing stage, before the launch of the M-WEZ master plan,” it told FMT when contacted in May.
It maintained that it would fulfil all regulatory requirements such as the environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment reports, and expects the project to create more quality jobs for the local community.
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