Portuguese folk protest against Melaka Gateway project with coffins

KUALA LUMPUR (July 17): The Melaka Gateway project has incurred the anger of residents from the Portuguese Settlement in Bandar Hilir.

According to a report by the Chinese publication Guang Ming Daily, about 200 protesters from the historic village protested against reclamation activities for the RM43 billion seafront Melaka Gateway project.  

The Chinese daily reported that the residents carried a number of coffins to the office of the master developer of the project --  KAJ Development Sdn Bhd.

Some of the protesters proceeded to lie in the coffins and while others sprinkled sand into them.

They told the daily that it was meant to depict the “the developer throwing sand into their rice bowls with the reclamation activities”.

It was reported yesterday that KAJ Development said the Melaka Gateway project is on-track, brushing aside concerns it is being reviewed by the new government and may be shelved. 

The company said it has requested for a meeting with key stakeholders such as the transport ministry and Port Klang Authority, to present the latest updates on the project. 

“We are continuing our engagements with key stakeholders such as meeting the chief minister of Melaka and the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP),” Melaka Gateway founder and KAJ chief executive officer Datuk Michelle Ong said in a statement.