Coal Can Be Costly—Who's Paying?
Text and Photos: Nicole Fong
Editor: YH Law
Published: 22 December 2021
(Cover Photo: Pieces of coal litter the beach by a jetty that was used to transport coal in Port Dickson | Pic by Nicole Fong)
Malaysia favours coal as a cheap source of energy. But for the communities living near the power plants, coal exacts a high price. This is Part 2 of a series that examines coal-use. Read Part 1 here.
MOHAMED NOH a fishmonger in Chuah, Negeri Sembilan. For over two decades, the community has been going to Noh for fresh fish which he buys from local fishers.
A woman rides up on a motorcycle to Noh’s battered-up fish stall. But there’s no fish. “There hasn’t been any for the past two weeks,” Noh tells her. “Maybe next week might be better.”
He sighs as she rides away. He had already turned other customers away that day.
Noh and some fishers in Chuah blame the nearby coal-fired power plants for depleting fishes in the sea. They believe the power plants release pollutants that damage their health and environment.
Coal is the source of 43% of Malaysia’s energy (read Part 1). The country imports almost all of the coal it burns because it is cheaper to do so. Only a few coal mines are left running in Sarawak. Accidents at those mines in Abok and Selantik have killed 7 people since 2012.
And coal-fired power plants can induce far larger environmental and socio-economic impacts.
Coal came, fish gone
For Noh, the commissioning of the nearby Jimah Power Station in 2005 has made life much worse for him and the other fishers. Then a second plant, Jimah East Power Station, fired up in 2019.
Since the power plants, fishing yields have crashed. When Noh started his trade in 1997, he worked with about 20 fishers. The yields then were high, with each fisher catching up to RM400 worth of fish a day, he recalls.
But they can hardly haul up one-fourth of that now. The fishing community pulls in lighter and lighter nets, even empty ones. “We can no longer find prawns here,” says Noh.
Chuah is just one of the many communities living next to coal-fired power plants in Malaysia. How have lives in these communities changed as a result of coal usage? What can they tell us about the true cost of ‘cheap’ coal?
Impact across Malaysia
To get the answers, Macaranga spoke with the fisher folk and indigenous communities living near coal-fired power plants. We reported from four out of the six clusters of coal-fired power plants in Malaysia.
Macaranga also reached out to the power plant operators. Sarawak Energy Bhd declined to comment. Jimah Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd, Kapar Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd, TNB Janamanjung Sdn Bhd, and Malakoff Corporation Berhad did not respond to interview requests.
Coal burning and its by-product, coal ash, generates more particulate matter, heavy metals, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide than any other fuel.
A hazardous neighbour
A review of 113 studies worldwide found that people living near coal power plants suffered from poorer child health and higher rates of premature deaths and infant mortality, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and lung cancer.
In Malaysia, there has been little research on the health impact of coal use. One 2018 study on the Manjung power plant in Perak found that the high concentration of inhalable coal dust is high and can cause adverse health impacts to humans.
An earlier 2017 study on the Balingian coalfield in Sarawak found that the coal extracted there can release high concentrations of hazardous trace elements (arsenic, lead, antimony) into the atmosphere when burned.
In Negeri Sembilan, Perak, and Selangor, fishers living near coal power plants tell Macaranga they suffer when their skin or eyes come into contact with coal dust or water and soil that is polluted by the dust. They say it is like an allergic itch, and they have grown used to it.
Matek Anak Geram, a land rights activist from Persatuan Sarawak Dayak Iban (SADIA), says that the indigenous communities living close to the Mukah Power Plant and Balingian Power Plant face many health problems, such as cancer, tuberculosis, asthma, and birth defects.
He alleges that the health problems are caused by air and water pollution from coal burning. “Sudden deaths” had happened because residents didn’t know they had health issues until it was too late to seek help. Living in rural areas means they have limited healthcare access.
Environmental degradation from air, water and soil pollution associated with coal burning was a common complaint from residents in all four locations Macaranga reported from.
This is despite a study that found that the levels of pollution to be very low and acceptable at the Kapar plant in Selangor. Another study predicted negligible morbidity and mortality risks arising from pollution from the Sejingkat power plant in Kuching, Sarawak.
Lingering legacy
Back when the Port Dickson jetty was used as a coal transport hub for the Jimah power plants in Negeri Sembilan, pieces of coal always dropped into the sea around the jetty.
The coal “pollutes the corals, jetty and the beach here”, says Rahim, a fisherman whose fishing pier is next to the jetty. “There’s no fish under the jetty anymore.”
The jetty is no longer used to move coal. But countless pieces of coal still litter the jetty and the adjacent beach.
Pieces of coal continue to wash up on the beach even though coal is no longer transported from here. (Nicole Fong)
Closer to the Jimah power plants in Chuah, the seabed is now blackened because the sand is mixed with coal, say the fishermen there. Coal dust would cover items that fall on the seabed.
Suspicious wastewater
When the power plants dispose of their wastewater into the sea, the water warms up and the fishermen would smell something pungent akin to chlorine. They claim that the wastewater kills the fish, prawns and crabs. They also blame air pollution from the facility for the dead or sterile plants in the area.
These experiences are not limited to fishers in Chuah. Those near the Manjung power plants in Perak describe blackened seabeds too. And in Mukah, Matek the land rights activist complains of dead plants and of wastewater killing marine life.
However, it is important to note that in Perak, Selangor, and Sarawak, pollution could come not just from the coal-fired power plants, but from nearby factories that make gloves, process palm oil and smelt aluminium.
While burning coal could hurt public health, the effects might take years to show. But when pollution wipes out the fishers’ catch from the seas and rivers, it is an immediate and huge loss of livelihoods. This happened to all four communities Macaranga interviewed.
Empty nets, empty pockets
Some species have been completely decimated locally. The fishermen in Chuah can no longer find prawns and crabs in the area surrounding the Jimah power plants. They blame the Jimah power plant on the coast for polluting the water and making the area uninhabitable for fish.
“There’s now less fish that enter the river from the sea,” says Mashud, head of the Kampung Tanjong Mas fishing pier.
The fishermen along the coast of Sitiawan, by the Manjung power plant, have all suffered great losses.
“Even though it’s cockle season now, the baby cockles are dirty (not safe to eat). In the past, 60 to 70% used to be clean but now only 20 to 30% of them are clean,” says Yasin, a fisherman from Parit Haji Dollah near the Manjung Power Station. Ten years ago, he used to make between RM300 to RM400 in one fishing trip but now struggles to make RM100.
Macaranga spoke to 13 fisher folk for this story. All expressed sentiments that the sea is something they can no longer rely on for a living and way of life. They tell their children to not follow in their footsteps. The sea no longer gives them hope.
Forced to give up
“We feel sad. Our grandparents used to make a living as fisher folk but now we can’t anymore,” laments Halit, the Chuah fisherman.
“For the older generation of fishermen, they are simply unable to go far into the sea to fish, especially with rising costs of living and maintenance,” says Mashud, the fisherman from Negeri Sembilan. “So they sort of surrender and give in to these changes.”
Meanwhile, the indigenous communities in Mukah, Sarawak, must deal with the violation of their native customary rights. “Their ancestral lands have been used without their consent to build these power plants,” says Matek, the Balingian-based land rights activist.
Having lost their land and unable to survive on the degraded remaining land, many young indigenious persons have moved to the city for work. They were forced to give up their cultural identity and not live the lives of their ancestors.
Fishing communities near the Manjung coal power plants, Perak
Help needed
Power plant operators do provide financial compensation to affected fishers living near the power plants. One fisher in Perak said he received RM10,000.
But most of the fishers Macaranga spoke to were not licensed under the Department of Fisheries. They told Macaranga this disqualifies them for the compensation.
Poor fishers without licenses are badly affected as they have to risk their lives just to make a living and are also excluded from other government aid like oil subsidies and special allowances for fishers.
However, even the fishers who received the compensation say it is not enough to cover the loss of income and livelihoods.
They lamented that they have no avenue to voice their opinions and to take meaningful action.
This is despite the existence of official channels such as the National Fishermen’s Associations and the Department of Fisheries, and unofficially via environmental civil society organisations.
“If possible, the power plant should just be shut down,” Noh says when asked about his hopes for the future. At the very least, they want to be compensated, regardless of whether they are registered with the Department of Fisheries. “Help us.”
They also call for more effective monitoring and protection in the areas surrounding the coal-fired power plants to prevent further environmental, economic, and health damage.
When – or if – the power plants would be closed would depend on how Malaysia phases out coal. Until then, and likely for many years after, the communities living near coal-fired power plants would be paying the most for the country’s cheapest source of energy.
This article is Part 2 of a two-part series that examines coal-use in Malaysia. Read Part 1 here. The series is produced with the financial support of the European Commission for Nicole Fong in the form of a grant from Internews Malaysia as part of a Data Journalism workshop. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Internews and Macaranga and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
Project coordinator: Nicole Fong
Researcher & Writer: Nicole Fong
Data Analyst: Danial Zulkifli
Editor and Layout: Yao-Hua Law
Photographer: Nicole Fong
Illustrator: Nicole Fong
Further Reading
Darshini K. et al. 2021. Shedding coal: the good, the bad, the ugly of Malaysia’s coal industry. Kini News Lab.
One thought on “Coal Can Be Costly – Who’s Paying?”
very good article. Thank you