Pakatan pledges to shelve Petronas’ RM60b Pengerang project after GE13 win
“If we do not win this case in court, this is Anwar’s message to you — when PR wins the Malaysian government, and we are sure to win… when he becomes the prime minister, he will stop this RAPID project,” he thundered to the crowd.
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today promised to stop the Petronas RM60 billion petrochemical project should it wrest federal power in the coming polls, an electoral pledge likely aimed at capitalising on an emotive issue that could mark the start of Umno’s weakening grasp over Johor.
Johor PKR chief Datuk Chua Jui Meng speaking on behalf of PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Himpunan Hijau Pengerang Lestari rally here, made the announcement to a crowd of thousands who whooped at his words.
“If we do not win this case in court, this is Anwar’s message to you — when PR wins the Malaysian government, and we are sure to win… when he becomes the prime minister, he will stop this RAPID project,” he thundered to the crowd.
“That is our pledge to you today… and we will help you restore your lives here.”
Earlier this morning, the sleepy hollow of Kampung Sungai Rengit came alive with animated chants and blares from portable air horns as green-clad protesters streamed in by the bus loads to rally against Petronas’ RM60 billion Refinery and Petrochemicals Development (RAPID) project that will see thousands of villagers lose their homes and livelihoods.
The highly-anticipated Himpunan Hijau Pengerang Lestari protest kicked off peacefully to a bright and early start despite earlier fears of possible police blockades to prevent protesters from attending the mass rally.
From 25 different locations across the country, including the east Malaysian state of Sabah, rally participants arrived from 9am onwards, all dressed in Himpunan Hijau’s signature neon green T-shirts and bearing banners that detailed the rally’s three protests — to protest the land grab, to protest the loss of livelihood, and to protest environmental destruction.
As at 10am, the small village square where the township’s landmark steel lobster structure is located was flooded by nearly a thousand protesters.
Banners and placards condemning RAPID, which will see the relocation of over 3,000 people from seven villages girdling the shore of Pengerang, have also been erected across the small Chinese-majority Kampung Sungai Rengit, the only village that has escaped the government’s relocation plans thus far.
According to rally organisers, the government has refused to acquire land from Kampung Sungai Rengit residents due to the high value of the commercial property here.
But a Pengerang PKR leader Taufik Jahir claimed the objective was to “force the villagers from their homes” as Kampung Sungai Rengit will turn into an island once all phases of the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) is completed in the years ahead.
