Situated at the entrance of the heritage town of Batu Arang, Gombak, is a black banner protesting a proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator plant in the area.
The group protesting it - the Rawang Tolak Incinerator Network (RTI) - is now seeking a meeting with Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari to convey their objection.
RTI, which comprises a coalition of resident associations in Rawang, is even mulling showing up at one of Amirudin’s events unannounced to show their displeasure over the project.
RTI spokesperson Abdul Hanan Abd Mokti said the group submitted a letter to the Selangor menteri besar’s office last Tuesday to call for a meeting.
“We have already written a memorandum addressed to the MB to formally and physically submit to him, but at the moment we don’t have confirmed dates,” Hanan told Malaysiakini.
He said this after the group conducted a seminar in Batu Arang today.
RTI committee member Lam Choong Wah stressed the urgency of the matter and that a meeting with the menteri besar was essential.
“We have assemblypersons and MPs to facilitate the request as well. Selayang MP William Leong said there was no response from the MB’s office.
“Perhaps we will attend one of his (Amirudin’s) functions to meet him directly, even without an invitation,” Lam added.
Not the right location
The Sultan Idris Shah WTE green energy plant project will be overseen by Kelab Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) Waste Management and YTL Power International Bhd.
KDEB is a subsidiary of Selangor Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI Selangor).
The size of the project was not indicated in the project’s plan but it was said the plant will be able to process 2,400 tonnes of waste daily, producing 58 megawatts of energy.
The plan mentioned that the project will be built beside a lake between Batu Arang and Bandar Tasik Puteri.
Leong, who also attended today’s seminar, said the incinerator was unsuitable to be built in Batu Arang - a heritage town primarily known for its coal mines.
The PKR lawmaker alleged that building an incinerator in the area would be akin to building an atomic bomb as the area still had methane gas emissions from past mining activities.
“Imagine if we had an incinerator on methane gas. It would be worse than an atomic bomb.
“I am of the opinion that the Selangor government did not do in-depth research on whether it would be suitable to have an incinerator in Batu Arang,” he said.
Leong stressed that he and the group were not against having an incinerator in general but opined that Batu Arang was not the right place for one.
Release reports
Leong called on Amirudin and the state government to release the reports of studies conducted on the proposed plant.
Residents, he said, had the right to know the outcome of studies carried out by the government to place this incinerator.
“If it is safe, then the people can be reassured. But where is the reassurance that the homework has been done?
“Who is going to be supervising whether the emissions are going to be controlled? There is no doubt that when you burn (rubbish) there will be emissions and pollution,” he added.
Leong also labelled the proposed incinerator as going against Batu Arang’s geopark status.
“We have spent so much money making this a warisan (heritage) and on ecotourism. Then you put the rubbish dump and incinerator here, nobody wants it.
“It is a big contradiction. Are you asking the people in Batu Arang to move out? We want to know the answer,” he demanded.
Malaysiakini has contacted Amirudin’s office for comment. - Mkini
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