Out of the blue, someone sent me a tik tok video entitled "Outsider View on the PSR Plan".

"This has to be one of the worst ideas I have seen in a while"
"When you have billions of ringgits worth of empty properties"
"When you have global, regional and national inflation"
"When you see global food shortages"
"When you have climate change experts warning of rising sea levels"
"What on earth makes you think it's a good idea to build artificial islands?"
"This project is an absolute money pit"
"This just looks to me like a huge scam... just like Dubai"

In response to this video, which has gone viral, the state government apologists and cybertroopers of the ruling political party behind this project have issued their own propaganda and misleading drivel:

1) quoting IPCC on reclamation as "advanced climate adaptation" out of context to justify man-made fantasy islands, whereas reclamation is carefully considered as a strategy for small island nations (like Pacific islands) and existing coastal settlements vulnerable to sea level rise.

2) citing Penang's historical expansion of industrial and housing areas through incremental foreshore reclamation, and drawing false equivalence with the unnecessary and oversized PSR project.

3) claiming that the local fishermen support PSR, as recently shown in the full-page Advertorials taken out by the developers featuring a few (coopted?) fishermen. While in fact, the Penang Fishermen's Association with 5,000 members have annually voted in their AGM to object to PSR since 2015. Haji Zakaria Ismail representing 185 fishermen in his unit had successfully appealed against the approval of the 2019 Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). 

Just to set the record straight:

a) Only 700 acres of PSR is intended for industrial use, when in fact, 6,000 acres have already been earmarked for this purpose in Seberang Perai (mainland part of Penang) which by itself is larger than Singapore!.

b) Most of PSR will be developed with high-end properties, despite the existing property glut. Let us not forget that the newly-reclaimed Sri Tanjung Pinang 2 island off-Gurney Drive (STP2a is 253 acres compared to PSR's total 4,500 acres) will already add to that property overhang when built.

c) PSR is supposed to increase Penang's population to more than 440,000 by the year 2050, with an overnight density higher than New York City. Penang is the Malaysian state with the lowest fertility rate, and poor people cannot afford to buy high-end properties. Hence, most new Penang properties are sold to the wealthy elite and foreigners.

Could it be that PSR agenda is to build "offshore overseas nest eggs" for foreigners? No wonder the saying among the fishermen goes:

"Anak kera di hutan disusui, anak sendiri di rumah kebuluran" (The monkey in the jungle is breastfed, the baby at home languishes from starvation").