Is Selangor disguising deforestation as ‘conservation’?

 

Can development be covered up as “conservation” in Selangor? This is what may be happening at the Shah Alam Community Forest (SACF), which residents and nature lovers have fought for eight long years to save.

Hikers have reported that bulldozers began tearing through the steep hilly forest in May. This is part of a hush-hush project called Bandar Sierra Alam by PKNS, the Selangor State Development Corporation, which is controlled by the Pakatan Harapan state government.

This place was mentioned only in a “by the way” fashion in late May, when several news articles declared that PKNS had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to “conserve” 34.5 hectares of forest, to be renamed as PKNS Community Forest (PCF).

But there was no announcement of any new property project called “Bandar Sierra Alam”. Nor could it be found on Google Maps. So where was it?

It turns out that SACF is being bulldozed for it. Yet the MOU makes it all sound very “eco-friendly”, complete with a plan to gain regional recognition for PCF as a “protected area" from the South-East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP). A headline deceptively declares “PKNS and UiTM to safeguard Green Lung of Shah Alam”.

But all this fancy window dressing evades the fact that the 34.5ha will merely be 20 percent of the existing 172ha at SACF. 121.4ha is owned by PKNS while the balance is owned by the state government directly. In other words, PKNS will be chopping down some 88ha of forest for “development”.

Yet they are whitewashing (or rather greenwashing) it as “conservation”. This is sorok-sorok development by stealth.

Natural treasures

SACF is a treasure chest of signature species such as tapirs, leopard cats, dusky leaf monkeys, white-handed gibbons, slow loris, mousedeers and hornbills. In other words, it’s like a mini National Park, right in the Klang Valley.

But if SACF is slashed down from 172ha to just 34ha, experts believe this will lead to inbreeding and their eventual extinction.

Dusky Langur, or Spectacled Leaf Monkey, spotted on a tree in SACF

If Bukit Kiara in Kuala Lumpur was chopped down by the BN-led federal government, there would be a huge outcry. So why is Selangor, supposedly led by the more “progressive” Harapan, allowing SACF to be destroyed?

In fact, SACF, which still has much of its original forests, is even better than Bukit Kiara, which is an overgrown rubber estate. It also trumps Kiara because it has seven lakes, which act as natural flood mitigation ponds.

SACF is a very popular area for hikers, with over 1,000 visitors weekly. The terrain of steep hills is great for trekking but terrible for development as it will mean massive soil erosion and probably flash floods.

Bandar Sierra Alam, which gets its name from the Spanish word “sierra” or “mountains”, will ravage the hill slopes. Haven’t we learned our lessons from the devastating floods of December 2021?

Strange excuses

Nor Hanisah Mohd Hashim, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Survey in UiTM is giving PKNS technical advice on conserving PCF. Her team of students did a three-day survey of some 200 visitors to the area.

“They felt rather upset that PKNS was developing it,” she admitted.

What is even more astonishing is that development has been justified because SACF has been classified as a “semi-motorised” area. Hanisah explains there are six levels of park planning in a spectrum from “primitive” to “fully urbanised”.

Level 1 (primitive) refers to virgin areas such as the Royal Belum rainforest while Level 4 refers to kampungs. Since there are some motocross activities (dirt or scrambler bikes) at SACF, it has been classified as Level 3 or “semi motorised”!

But hold on. Even kapcai motorbikes are regularly used by Orang Asli to gather bamboo, petai and durians in many of the forests. And such bikes also go into the Endau-Rompin State Park.

Does that mean that all those forests should be classified as “semi motorised” and therefore open for “development” too?

Selangor already has the most unsold residential properties in 2021 at almost 16,000 units. So why the rush to build even more? Is it because some politicians’ terms are ending?

A source claimed that PKNS intends to build “affordable housing” here. But it’s “strange” to build such budget residences on steep hills, where the costs of development are much higher, especially for roads, retaining walls (for landslide prevention) and other infrastructure.

Or is “affordable housing” a decoy to make the project more politically “acceptable”? Is the real goal lucrative high-end residences? After all, most elite housing in Malaysia is branded as “heights” (eg: Damansara Heights), and probably suits the lofty setting of the highland “sierra”.

In fact, the Shah Alam City Council’s (MBSA) own Local Landscape Plan (LLPlan) shows posh “eco villas” for SACF. Is this what has been truly planned by PKNS?

Any ‘harapan’ for the forest?

Detailed research by conservationists and the Bar Council has found that the land at SACF is still legally a Permanent Forest Reserve.

This is because the process of degazetting the forest back in 2006 was never properly done. Thus, any development, including by PKNS, would be illegal.

Selangor Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Orang Asli Affairs Committee exco Hee Loy Sian

Some Harapan politicians are trying to work behind the scenes to see if SACF can be salvaged. But they say they have to talk to Selangor Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Orang Asli Affairs Committee exco Hee Loy Sian.

Unfortunately, Hee has a poor track record on green matters. He, and the state exco, was exposed for quietly degazetting another forest at Kuala Langat, a decision criticised by his own fellow PKR lawmakers.

His basic line of argument for SACF is: hey tough luck buddy, the forest reserve was degazetted by the bad old BN state government, then headed by Umno menteri besar Khir Toyo back in 2006. And we can’t do anything about that!

But wait, why is Hee hiding behind a bad BN decision? The people of Selangor voted for Harapan because they had “harapan” or “hope” for real change. And the state exco has the power to re-gazette the area as a forest reserve.

The state government, which controls PKNS, can make a political decision not to develop SACF. It can also swap other more suitable lands (such as flatter oil palm areas) for PKNS to develop instead. After all, a pro-Anwar Ibrahim group called Otai Reformis, has claimed that PKNS has a land bank of 2,417ha which is still unused.

But even though distraught residents personally went to Hee’s office at Shah Alam in October 2021 to request an urgent meeting, all they got was a deafening silence. Some 75,000 people have already signed a petition to “Save SACF”. There have been protests over the years. How many more people (and voters) need to speak up?

However, Hee is just the frontman. The real power lies with Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, who was famously part of the “Azmin Ali cartel” in PKR. And that guy (along with Hee) tried hard to justify destroying the Kuala Langat forest reserve and handing it over to an RM1 company linked to a former Johor Umno Youth leader. Only a mass outcry forced the MB to re-gazette Kuala Langat as a forest.

A wise government will protect SACF to prevent floods, preserve biodiversity and attract tourists. This precious green oasis will provide fresh, cool air to surrounding residents and a hill recreation area to the public.

Hopefully, the state exco can give all Selangor folks some real “harapan” or “hope” for a greener future. - Mkini

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ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.