Their attention, however, is focused some 2 km beyond the Johor shore on Singapore’s Pulau Tekong where land reclamation work is being carried out at a hectic pace.

The officials are there to study the economic and environmental impact of the reclamation works on Johor waters.

From Ezmad’s warung, one can see the stretch of piling, which looks like a wall of steel, blocking off the lush vegetation on the island.

“Villagers from nearby areas started coming here to watch the piling works since last year after the press highlighted the issue.

“I have done better business over the past week, especially during weekends. I make between RM50 and RM100 more a day now,” said Ezmad.

On the other hand, fishermen in Tanjung Pengelih and nearby villages complain of an 80 percent drop in their catch as a result of the ecological change caused by reclamation works and ships transporting earth from Johor.

Ferry operators to the Changi terminal are incurring higher costs due to the longer route they have to take to avoid the reclamation site.

Chalet operators along the coast are worried about soil erosion that could reduce the size of the beaches and cause the area to lose its charm and attraction.

Singapore, being an island state with land constraints, has an historical record of land reclamation to meet its growth.

It embarked on its first reclamation project in the 1820s when Sir Stamford Raffles ordered the flattening of a hill near the mouth of the Singapore River to provide earth to reclaim its south bank.

Attap stilt huts were relocated and the swamps were filled to construct a dockyard now known as Boat Quay, paving the way for Singapore to become a regional trading and shipping hub.

After the island republic gained Independence, it continued the policy of land reclamation to support its growing population and economic growth.

The tiny city state has “physically expanded” by 11 percent from 582sq km to 647sq km over the last 40 years, according to the Singapore Ministry of National Development (www.mnd. gov.sg.)

Under its Concept Plan 2001, Singapore hopes to “expand” by another 15 percent by 2010 to cater for a population of 5.5 million from the present 3.5 million.

Major reclamation is planned on the north-eastern islands (Pulau Tekong and Pulau Ubin), Tuas near Johor’s Second Link bridge and the Western islands next to Tuas.

While the proposed reclamation works are clearly spelt out by the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), it is the development for Pulau Tekong that has raised the concern of the Johor government.

When completed, Pulau Tekong and the nearby Pulau Ubin will double their size, from 3534ha to 6228ha.

The URA website said Pulau Ubin would be turned into a sports and recreation oasis while Tuas, located opposite Johor’s Tanjung Pelepas port, would cater for industrial and shipping activities.

Next to Tuas, several of the western islands (a collection of 27 islands) would be linked to form a mass land for petro-chemical plants.

However, there is no mention of specific plans for Pulau Tekong which is known to be one of the training grounds for the Singapore Army.

Johor is concerned about the economic impact the reclamation works will have on its Pasir Gudang port, which depends on the Singapore side of the Johor Straits (south of Pulau Tekong and Pulau Ubin) to allow big vessels to sail to the port.

The Malaysian side of the straits is too shallow, narrow and filled with obstacles such as reefs that deter smooth navigation.

Shippers had cautioned that the reclamation, which had extended some 12 nautical miles south of Pulau Tekong, is leaving only about 950m of passageway.

Although the shipping lane would not affect big vessels of 15m depths, the reclamation would cause traffic congestion in lanes for smaller vessels.

“It is like turning a three-lane highway into a one lane.

“It takes only one collision to paralyse the traffic flow to Pasir Gudang, home to some 900 ships a month,” said a source from the Harbour Master Department.

Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman expressed the state’s concern that the 25-year-old Pasir Gudang port would lose its competitiveness once large vessels have to fork out extra sums for pilot services to sail through the would-be narrow straits.

Even now, navigational activities in the straits are tightly regulated to accommodate busy traffic within the limited passageway.

The vessels sail under the watchful eyes of the Singapore radar system which monitors all movements in the area and issues warning signals if possible navigational risks are spotted.

A Johor Port Authority official said with all the facilities and precautionary measures in place, the accident rate in the Johor Straits was still very low and the port had not experienced major traffic disruption in the past.

According to sources in the state security division, the aggressive reclamation works, extending up to the border of Johor waters, could result in dispute and mistrust between the two countries.

Mindful of Singapore’s rights to reclamation, Malaysia has asked that these rights be exercised with consideration given to Malaysia’s views and concerns.

Economic impact aside, concerns over marine ecology in the area are also high on the list as it affects the livelihood of thousands of fishermen.

It is believed the reclamation project in Pulau Tekong could transform the condition of the sea bed as the narrower straits would create more pressure on the water gushing into the open sea, resulting in stronger currents that could accelerate soil erosion.

Fishermen claimed to have spotted many sand dredgers trespassing into their fishing areas to siphon sand for the reclamation project.

This has destroyed the marine habitat and affected fish breeding grounds.

Fisherman Nor Malik Abdul Rahim, 37, from Kampung Bukit Pelali, who has been harvesting from the sea can no longer identify the best spots as the environment has become unpredictable.

“Before this, we could estimate the flow of the current which brought along rich marine life and place our net in strategic places. We used to be able to net RM400 worth of catch daily.

“But now, the waves have become stronger. When we pull in our net, there is more mud than anything else,” said the depressed Malik whose income has dropped to an average of RM30 a day.

Fishermen with larger boats have risked trespassing into Indonesian waters in search of a better catch.

Said veteran fisherman Boh Ah Chio, 56: “Last time, I used to set a bubu trap (a cage fishing method) in shallower waters and return a week later to check on the catch.

“But after several incidents when the traps worth thousands of ringgit were destroyed by sand dredgers, I gave up,” he said.

Retired security personnel Kassim Leman, 64, said the beaches of Teluk Ramunia used to be beautiful but there are hardly any left as the shoreline has drawn closer and threatens to swallow their homes in the near future.

Although Kassim blamed the reclamation projects in Singapore islands as a contributing factor for the deterioration, just like many other villagers in Penggerang, he does not know where to channel his objections.

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had dismissed the controversy as a “general trend” of the Malaysian media to play up news on the reclamation project to create an issue.

Meanwhile, studies on the impact of the reclamation project on Malaysia have now reached the highest level as cabinet has received a compilation of data gathered by the Johor government.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad asked for an assurance from the Singapore government that the shipping lane will not be affected by the reclamation exercise.

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