"Air Laut Macam Daun Pandan" (The Sea is Like Pandan Leaf): Pulau Pinang Fishing Communities, Contested Development, and “Anti-Politics”
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study identifies the developmental pathway that is taking place in the state of Pulau Pinang. The focus is on the responses of the ordinary people, namely fishing communities to the development pace of Pulau Pinang (island), the contestation on “developmental” discourses with the state (namely Pulau Pinang State Government, PSG), and the ways in which state institutions and communities construct the narrative of “development”. Through participant observation in the field sites with the fishing community and secondary resources analysis, the article showcases the contested meaning of “development”. The research findings are on the one hand by the PSG, which is underpinned by neoliberal economic principles, on the other hand, by the communities at large, which is multifaceted in nature.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Abdul Rahman Embong. 2018. Pembangunan dan kesejahteraan: Agenda kemanusiaan abad ke-21. Selangor: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Anilnetto.com. 2022. Draft Penang island local plan on public display. 21 October. https://anilnetto.com/economy/development-issues/draft-penang-island-local-plan-on-public-display/ (accessed 16 August 2021).
Astro Awani. 2021. Penang contested development. Consider This. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddTraxaF2OI&list=PLFHO_OVcpzKL80irpDyAzMjKxYBgmvynG&index=54 (accessed 16 August 2021)
Au Yong, H.N. 2012. Regional development of Penang: A shift-share approach. Pertanika: Journal of Social Science and Humanities 20(2): 375–390.
Bulloch, H.C.M. 2017. In pursuit of progress: Narratives of development on a Philippine Island. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Caouette, D. and D. Kapoor. 2016. Beyond colonialism, development and globalization. In Beyond colonialism, development and globalization: Social movements and critical perspectives, eds. D. Caouette and D. Kapoor, 1–23. London: Zed Books.
Carsten, J. 1997. The heat of the hearth: The process of kinship in a Malay fishing community. New York: Oxford University Press.
City Population. 2023. Malaysia. http://www.citypopulation.de/en/malaysia/cities/ (accessed 19 September 2023).
Dermawan, A. 2019. Fishermen to march to Parliament to protest against PSR project. News Straits Times.com, 8 July. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/07/502592/fishermen-march-parliament-protest-against-psr-project (accessed 29 May 2023).
Environmental Impact Assessment Report. 2019. The proposed reclamation and dredging works for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR). Volume 2: Main report. https://govdocs.sinarproject.org/documents/ministry-of-natural-resources-and-environment/eia-reports/projek-tambakan-laut-bahagian-selatan-pulau-pinang?b_start:int=20 (accessed 27 May 2023).
Escobar, A. 1995. Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the Third World. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Ferguson, J. 1994. The anti-politics machine: “Development,” depoliticization, and bureaucratic power in Lesotho. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Firth, R. 1946. Malay fishermen: Their peasant economy. London: Kegan Paul.
FMT Reporters. 2022. Penang groups urge federal govt to review transport master plan. Free Malaysia Today. 8 December. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/12/08/penang-groups-urge-federal-govt-to-review-transport-master-plan/ (accessed 1 June 2023).
Goh, B.L.. 2002. Modern dreams: An inquiry into power, cultural production, and the cityscape in contemporary urban Penang, Malaysia. Ithaca: Cornell SEAP.
Hadzlihady Hassan. 2018. Visi Penang2030 untuk semua rakyat. BH Online, 31 December. https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/wilayah/2018/12/514771/visi-penang2030-untuk-semua-rakyat (accessed 7 October 2021).
Hall, S. and B. Gieben, eds. 1992. Formations of modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Harvey, D. 2005. A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hall, S. and B. Gieben, eds. 2006. Spaces of global capitalism: Towards a theory of uneven geographical development. London and New York: Verso.
Hayrol Azril Mohamed Shaffril, Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah and J.L. D’Silva. 2017. Adapting towards climate change impacts: Strategies for small-scale fishermen in Malaysia. Marine Policy 81: 196–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.03.032
Heng, M.S.H. 2014. Malaysian modernization and its potential contributions to modern Asian civilization. In Revisiting Malaysian modernizatioon: Essays on science, technology, religion and environment, ed. Mohd Hazim Shah, 227–236. Kajang and Petaling Jaya: Malaysian Social Science Association and Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD).
Hutchinson, F.E. 2012. Situating Penang in Asia and Malaysia. In Catching the wind: Penang in a rising Asia, eds. F.E. Hutchinson and J. Saravanamuttu, 1–19. Singapore and Penang: ISEAS and Penang Institute.
Jahara Yahaya. 1988. Fishery management and regulation in Peninsular Malaysia: Issues and constraints. Marine Resource Economics 5(2): 83–98.
JediPenang. 2021. PSR: What happens next to Penang will make you cry, by Khoo Salma Nasution, 28 March. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFpO-oe2IAA (accessed 1 June 2023).
Jomo, K.S., ed. 1993. Industrialising Malaysia: Policy, performance, prospects. London and New York: Routledge.
Jomo, K.S., ed. 1989. Mahathir’s economic policies. Kuala Lumpur: INSAN.
Kharas, H., A. Zeufack, and H. Majeed. 2010. Cities, people and the economy: A study on positioning Penang. Kuala Lumpur: Khazanah Nasional Berhad.
Khoo, B.T. 1995. Paradoxes of Mahathirism: An intellectual biography of Mahathir Mohamad. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Larrain, J. 1989. The theories of development: Capitalism, colonialism, and dependency. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Lee, H.A. 2004. Development in Malaysia: Economics and politics of an idea. Akademika 64: 65–81.
Lee, K.C., S.W. Wein and S. Loke. 2012. Investment opportunities in Penang. In Catching the wind: Penang in a rising Asia, eds. F.E. Hutchinson and J. Saravanamuttu, 68–83. Singapore and Penang: ISEAS and Penang Institute.
Leftwich, A. 2007. States of development: On the primacy of politics in development. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Lim, M.H. 2021. Questions still unanswered on justification for PTPM, PSI. Free Malaysia Today, 30 May. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2021/05/30/questions-still-unanswered-on-justification-for-ptmp-psi/ (accessed 19 September 2023).
Mason, M. 1997. Development and disorder: A history of the Third World since 1945. Toronto: Between the Lines.
McIntyre, I. 2019. Land reclamation not the lone reason for drop in seafood catch: Dr Afif. The Sun Daily, 25 June. https://www.thesundaily.my/local/land-reclamation-not-the-lone-reason-for-drop-in-seafood-catch-dr-afif-EB1021372 (accessed 22 June 2023).
Milne, R.S. and D.K. Mauzy. 1999. Malaysian politics under Mahathir. London and New York: Routledge.
Mohammad Ferdous Alam, Ishak Haji Omar and D. Squires. 2002. Sustainable fisheries development in the tropics: Trawlers and licence limitation in Malaysia. Applied Economics 34(3): 325–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840110036305
Mohammad Raduan Mohd Ariff, Ismail Ali, Mohammad Sharir, Mazlan Majid and Hanafi Hussin. 2011. Perkembangan perusahaan perikanan di Semenanjung Malaysia: Isu dan persoalan. Jati 16: 265–299.
Mok, O. 2019. So what exactly is the Penang Transport Master Plan and how is it being funded?. Malaymail, 27 June. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/06/27/so-what-exactly-is-the-penang-transport-master-plan-and-how-is-it-being-fun/1765894 (accessed 16 October 2021).
Nambiar, P. 2021. It’s lose-lose for Penang in PSR privatization plan, says economist. Free Malaysia Today, 21 May. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/05/21/its-lose-lose-for-penang-in-psr-privatisation-plan-says-economist/ (accessed 19 September 2023).
Ogawa, Y. 2004. Marine fisheries management and utilization of fishing ground in Malaysia. Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly 38(3): 209–212. https://doi.org/10.6090/jarq.38.209
Ooi, K.B. and B.L. Goh 2010. Introduction: Political masters and Master Plan. In Pilot studies for a new Penang, eds. K.B. Ooi and B.L. Goh, xii–xvii. Singapore and Penang: ISEAS and SERI.
Penang2030 Unit. 2019. Penang 2030: A family-focused green and smart state that inspires the nation. 1st ed. https://storage.googleapis.com/penang2030-website-downloads-bucket/Reports/The-Penang2030-Guide_First-Edition-2019_eBook_.pdf (accessed 4 June 2021).
Penang Forum. 2018. Call for review of mega project: Penang transport masterplan. https://penangforum.net/press-release/call-for-review-of-mega-project-penang-transport-masterplan/ (accessed 1 June 2023).
Penang Forum. 2021. Reject reclamation, save our seas. 19 June. https://penangforum.net/press-release/reject-reclamation-save-our-seas/ (accessed 31 May 2023).
Penang Institute. 2019. Penang economic and development report 2017/2018. https://penanginstitute.org/programmes/socioeconomics-and-statistics-programme/penang-economic-and-development-report-2017-2018/ (accessed 16 August 2021).
Rapley, J. 2007. Understanding development: Theory and practice in the Third World. Boulder: Lynne Reinner.
Rasiah, R. 2019. From swamps to semiconductors. In From free port to modern economy: Economic development and social change in Penang, 1969–1990, eds. C. Singh,
R. Rasiah and Y. Wong, 199–220. Singapore: ISEAS-Yusok Ishak Institute.
Rist, G. 2014. The history of development: From Western origins to global faith. London & New York: Zed Books.
Roy, D. 2014. Rural politics in India: Political stratification and governance in West Bengal. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press.
Saravanamuttu, J. and F.E. Hutchinson. 2012. Introduction. In Catching the wind: Penang in a rising Asia, eds. F.E. Hutchinson and J. Saravanamuttu, xv – xviii. Singapore and Penang: ISEAS and Penang Institute.
Scott, J. 1998. Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Solaymani, S. and F. Kari. 2014. Poverty evaluation in the Malaysian Fishery Community. Ocean & Coastal Management, 95: 165–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.04.017
Suriati Ghazali. 2009. ‘No fish, no money’: The livelihoods of the Malay fishing community in Teluk Bahang, Penang, Malaysia. Paper presented at Proceedings of the National Seminar on the Natural Heritage of the Northern Peninsular Malaysia (CD Proceeding), 182–192, Hotel Equatorial, Pulau Pinang. December.
Suriati Ghazali. 2011. Safeguarding natural and cultural heritage: The experiences of Teluk Bahang fishing communities, Penang, Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Environmental Management 12(1): 47–58.
Tan, L.I. 2019. Penang: Becoming a smart state. https://penanginstitute.org/publications/issues/penang-becoming-a-smart-state/#:~:text=Penang%20Moving%20Towards%20a%20Smart,of%20the%20people%20in%20Penang (accessed 16 August 2021).
The Edge Market. 2019. Creating a catalyst for growth in Penang. The Edge Markets, 10 December. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/content/advertise/creating-a-catalyst-for-growth-in-Penang (accessed 21 October 2020).
Tilly, C. 1979. Proletarianization: Theory and research. CRSO working paper no.202, American Sociological Association, Boston.
Vaghefi, N. 2017. Penang’s aquaculture industry holds great economic potential. https://penanginstitute.org/publications/issues/1005-penang-s-aquaculture-industry-holds-great-economic-potential/#:~:text=The%20state%20is%20currently%20the,wholesale%20value%20in%20the%20country (accessed 16 August 2021).
Vasu, P. 2020. Penang seeks fund for LRT after federal govt’s rejection. The Malaysian Reserve, 2 December. https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/12/02/penang-seeks-fund-for-lrt-after-federal-govts-rejection/ (accessed 21 June 2023)
Wong, P.K. and Y.P. Ho. 2010. Asia’s shift towards innovation and its implications for Penang. In Pilot studies for a new Penang, eds. K.B. Ooi and B.L. Goh, 23–56. Singapore and Penang: ISEAS and SERI.
Wong, PP. 1990. Coastal resources management: Tourism in Peninsular Malaysia. ASEAN Economic Bulletin 7(2): 213–221.
Yoon, C.L. 2012. Penang’s technology opportunities. In Catching the wind: Penang in a rising Asia, eds. F.E. Hutchinson and J. Saravanamuttu, 128–159. Singapore and Penang: ISEAS and Penang Institute.