Residents Submit Memo to Penang State Assembly Urging Rejection of Reclamation off Karpal Singh Drive
George Town, PENANG (20 November 2025) – Residents of Bandar Sri Pinang and the surrounding neighbourhoods, together with the Protect Karpal Singh Drive Action Committee (ProtectKarpal), today submitted a formal memorandum to both the Chief Minister of Penang and the Leader of the Opposition at the Penang State Assembly, calling for the rejection of the proposed reclamation and landfill recycling project off Karpal Singh Drive.
The memorandum was handed over following a peaceful gathering outside the main entrance of the Penang State Assembly, where residents, families, and supporters stood together to voice their concern over a project they believe will have serious and long-term impacts on public health, the coastal ecosystem linked to Middle Bank, and the identity of Karpal Singh Drive as a meaningful public space.
“We are here because this project will destroy our coastline and our community for the next 20 to 30 years,” said Dr K Ganesh, spokesperson for the ProtectKarpal. “We are not against proper rehabilitation of the Jelutong landfill. What we reject is using that as a pretext for new reclamation and turning our seafront into a noisy, polluted, open-air, industrial scale recycling zone right in front of our homes and our children’s school.”
Residents argue that the project, which combines land reclamation with open-air excavation and recycling of old landfill waste, poses unacceptable risks to:
- Public health, especially children and the elderly, due to dust, noise and potential emissions of toxic gases from disturbed landfill materials;
- The coastal and marine ecosystem connected to Middle Bank, which scientists have identified as an important seagrass and fish habitat area;
- The liveability and safety of the neighbourhood, given expected increases in heavy traffic, construction activity and long-term urban congestion;
- The symbolic legacy of Karpal Singh Drive, named after the late Datuk Seri Karpal Singh, as a people’s space for recreation and community life.
“Karpal Singh Drive is not just a piece of real estate on a drawing board. It is where our children play, where families walk, where small businesses survive,” added Dr K Ganesh, who is also a parent and long-time resident. “If this reclamation goes ahead, our kids will grow up breathing toxic gases, construction dust instead of sea breeze.”
Key Demands in the Memorandum
In the memorandum, residents and ProtectKarpal urge the Penang State Government and the Opposition to:
- Reject the proposed reclamation and open-air landfill recycling project off Karpal Singh Drive and in the Middle Bank deep-channel corridor.
- Adopt a safe “rehabilitation without reclamation” approach, by containing landfill rehabilitation within the existing Jelutong landfill footprint, using best-practice environmental and health safeguards.
- Strengthen protection for Middle Bank, moving towards legal recognition as a marine conservation area.
- Ensure transparent, science-based decision-making, including full public disclosure of technical studies such as the revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Health Impact Assessment (HIA), and meaningful engagement with residents, fisherfolk, schools, and small businesses before any major coastal project is approved.
The residents stress that this is not a partisan issue, but a matter of public interest, environmental justice, and intergenerational responsibility.
“We are appealing to both the Government and the Opposition to stand with the people on this,” said Dr K Ganesh. “Whatever our political differences, we all depend on clean air, a safe neighbourhood and a sustainable environment. Once the sea is filled with recycled waste and the ecosystem is damaged, there is no easy way back.”
ProtectKarpal and residents have requested a formal response from the State leadership and have pledged to continue engaging the authorities, civil society groups and the wider public on this issue.