Selangor scraps plan to develop Kuala Langat forest reserve

KUALA LUMPUR – The Selangor government has decided to degazette only 42ha of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) instead of 536ha.

In a statement today, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the decision is to complete the handover of land ownership to residents of Kg Orang Asli Busut Baru and resolve their issues that first arose in 2006.

“They were relocated from their original settlement in 1994 for the purpose of the construction of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

“The state government will consider allowing a smaller parcel of land to remain degazetted in view of the upcoming East Coast Rail Link alignment.”

He assured that his administration will put a stop to plans for development beyond the stated areas, and said it has cancelled the handover of the land to the company involved.

He said the state government will initiate the process of regazetting the remaining KLNFR land.

“At the same time, 581.1ha of forest land that was initially supposed to replace the degazetted (KLNFR land), in Sg Panjang, Ampang Pecah and Bukit Broga, will remain as a permanent forest reserve.”

He emphasised that the Selangor government, throughout the degazettement process previously, followed the procedures stipulated under the law.

“As a government based on the principle of accountability, the Selangor administration will write to the state speaker to convene a meeting of the Select Committee on Capability, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) to answer any issues raised regarding the previous process involving the gazetting.”

On August 30, exco Hee Loy Sian told the state assembly that more than 50% of KLNFR had been degazetted since May.

However, he said, in view of the objections to the proposal, only 536ha of the 991ha forest was degazetted.

Hee, who holds the tourism, environment and green technology portfolio, said the affected areas would be compensated by the gazettement of land in Sg Panjang, Bukit Broga and Ampang Pecah.

Amirudin, who is also chairman of Selangor PKR and the state Pakatan Harapan, earlier pledged to resolve the issue during the exco meeting today.

It came after the PKR leadership instructed him to settle the matter following a heated meet between him and the party’s political bureau on September 1.

In a statement on Friday, Selangor PH said the decision to bring the matter to the exco level followed a meeting with chiefs of coalition components in the state earlier that day.

The degazettement of the entire KLNFR for a mixed-development project was mooted in 2019.

A public hearing on the matter was conducted only last September, and saw great objection by locals, including Orang Asli and environmentalists. – The Vibes, September 8, 2021