THE Selangor state government has decided to delay the decision to degazette parts of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR), following a meeting with the PKR leadership.
“PKR’s political bureau is satisfied that Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari has agreed to delay the decision until the latter have considered and explained all issues pertaining to the issue.
“The party has made it clear that the decision must consider various issues, such as protecting the environment, beefing up transparency and cause minimal adverse effects to the people involved.
“This is not only PKR’s concern but also the Selangor state legislative members and non-governmental organisations,” party communications director Fahmi Fadzil said, in a statement.
On Aug 30, Selangor exco Hee Loy Sian shocked everyone by saying that the state government had decided to degazette 54% of the Kuala Langat North forest for a mixed-development project.
The move will allow 536.7ha from the 991.9ha forest to be exploited for development and the matter was only exposed during a question and answer session at the Selangor legislative assembly held yesterday.
The state government made the decision despite the state assembly unanimously opposing last November the degazettement of any forest resereves in the state.
The project also received objections from the various Orang Asli community living in the forest area.
Various organisations including Pertahankan Hutan Simpan Kuala Langat Utara (PHSKLU) coalition and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) have condemned the decision, calling it’s a blatant disregard of the people’s voice.
Breaching election manifesto?
On another matter, Fahmi also assured the public that Amirudin has yet to make any decision with regards to the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) highway.
He also said that any decision in regards to the matter would also take into consideration of stakeholders’ views.
“Amirudin said that the PJD Link proposal was brought forward by a private company to replace the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (KIDEX) highway plan, which was Putrajaya’s initiative.
“Please bear in mind that Selangor is only involved in land matters. However, there needs to be a study on the technicalities of the proposed project and its effects,” the Lembah Pantai MP noted.
PJD Link is said to be the “successor” of the KIDEX project, which was scrapped in 2015 following massive protests from Petaling Jaya residents.
However, Selangor exco Izham Hashi told the state legislature that the Government had agreed “in principle” to the project, drawing ire of many, with PKR MP William Leong accusing the state government of breaching the party’s election manifesto. – Sept 9, 2021.
