Raging tide: A beachgoer with a powerful torch watching the waves of a full moon’s high tide tear into giant sandbags. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: It is a race against time and tide to save Batu Ferringhi beach. The shoreline is said to be “disappearing” by a few centimetres every time full and new moon spring tides pound the beach.
The situation is dire and Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir is scheduled to visit the area to see the problem for himself tomorrow, said Penang infrastructure committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari.
He said the Federal Government had earlier approved RM61mil to save the beach under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
The first phase of the work is a hydrographic survey of the coast of Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah.
He said long-term solutions such as the construction of a wave breaker at sea are expected to start next year or in 2027, while an emergency fund of RM250,000 was approved to plant more giant sandbags at the beach next month.
“But the beach can’t wait,” said a 56-year-old lifeguard, adding that he has been there since he was 19.
The main stretch of Batu Ferringhi beach is about 2km and the erosion, which became evident since 2021, on the eastern end is almost 900m long.
While the sea might look placid during the day, the lifeguard said it was at night during the full and new moon phases that waves of the spring tide came crashing in.
“In the mornings, you’ll find the sandbags torn up; more and more of the beach is being eroded,” he said.
Tens of those sandbags, taller than a man and holding tonnes of sand each, have been planted deep into the beach since 2022.
Made from fabric and synthetic mesh, many of them tear apart within months, causing the sand stored in them to be washed away along with the beach.
The lifeguard said the torn, half-empty bags are now a hazard for beachgoers and water sports operators.
Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid, who visited the beach, agreed that “we don’t have much time now”.
“Climate change is eroding many beaches around the world and fast action is needed to protect such beaches,” she said.
A hotelier with 40 years’ experience in the Batu Ferringhi tourism belt said while he is pleased with the Federal Government’s RM61mil funding to save the beach, “solid action is needed now”.
“Looking at the beach, I now understand the saying, ‘Time and tide wait for no man’.
“The full and new moon phases add up to 14 days a month, and the spring tide in Batu Ferringhi will rise to between 2.4m and 2.9m.
“When it is windy at night, the waves crash into the compounds of some of the hotels and wash away more sand and the beach umbrellas and chairs kept by small businesses along the beach.
“If we delay too long, there might be no beach worth protecting here,” he said.
