Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari told PKR party leaders last night that he will hold off the controversial degazettement process involving the Kuala Langat (North) Forest Reserve.
This is according to PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil.
“The political bureau was satisfied after getting confirmation from the MB that he will postpone the forest reserve degazettement process until the state government is done taking into account and explaining all issues that arise,” he said in a statement.
Fahmi (above) added that the bureau had stressed that the degazettement decision needed to be based on environmental concerns, a transparent procurement process, good governance and its impact on society.
Malaysiakini has reached out to Amirudin’s office for confirmation on this.
Amirudin and Selangor state executive councillor Hee Loy Sian - both from PKR - had been summoned by party president Anwar Ibrahim to give an explanation on the issue.
Hee, who oversees environmental issues as part of his portfolio, told the Selangor Legislative Assembly on Monday (Aug 30) that the state had decided on the degazettement on May 5.
The news stunned lawmakers and the public alike.
Of the 991.9ha forest reserve, about 54 percent (536.7ha) had been excised. This is the size of about 865 football fields.
Of this area, private firm Gabungan Indah Sdn Bhd is to be given 494.7ha for a mixed-development project.
Gabungan Indah has a paid-up capital of RM1.00 but it is ultimately owned by Perdana Parkcity Sdn Bhd, the developer behind luxury township Desa ParkCity.
The state government has since come under fire for the delayed announcement, a lack of transparency and for going ahead with the degazettement despite widespread objections.
Kuala Langat (North) is a peat swamp forest recognised as the habitat for the Malayan sun bear, Langat red fighting fish, the Selangor pygmy flying squirrel and meranti trees.
No approval for PJD Link
According to Fahmi, Amirudin also offered an explanation for the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) project.
The PJD Link is an attempt to revive the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), a tolled highway project that was scrapped in 2015 following sustained objections from Petaling Jaya residents
Amirudin supposedly said that the PJD Link was a federal government project whereby the state government was only involved in land approvals.
“The MB explained that those behind PJD Link must perform a public consultation to obtain comprehensive views on technical issues and social impacts that may arise from this project.
“He assured that the state government had yet to issue any approvals for the PJD Link project. And said it will have to undergo a public hearing process with all stakeholders plus return to the state government for the subsequent processes,” Fahmi said.
Selangor exco Izham Hashim previously told the state legislature that the government had “agreed in principle” to set conditions under which the PJD Link could be implemented.
This decision was made on Sept 30, 2020, and was only revealed in response to a question from Bukit Gasing assemblyperson R Rajiv.
The state government has similarly come under fire for this stance. - Mkini
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