Ampang residents furious over Bukit Tabur land clearing

 

A tractor clearing land at the foot of Bukit Tabur in Ampang where Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya says there are 300 individually-owned lots. (Taman Melawati Residents Association pic).

PETALING JAYA: Taman Melawati residents are furious that land-clearing activities are still taking place at the foot of Bukit Tabur, Ampang, despite directives from the local council to stop doing so.

Taman Melawati Residents Association secretary Zack Mahmood said Bukit Tabur, the largest pure quartz dyke in the world, was a national heritage.

“So, our anger is justified especially when unscrupulous people come to destroy it,” he told FMT.

According to an Ampang Jaya City Council (MPAJ) representative, the land being cleared is at the foot of Bukit Tabur, not the hill itself, and that the 300 lots there are individually-owned.

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Over the last few days, social media has been ablaze with comments after images of land-clearing activities on Bukit Tabur surfaced.

Zack said it was not the first time land-clearing activities had taken place on this hillslope. In February and March, the association reported a similar incident to MPAJ.

“In May, MPAJ found the perpetrators, fined them and ordered them to stop their illegal activities,” he said, adding that Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari had announced late last year that no clearing activities were allowed on Bukit Tabur.

Another view of land being cleared at Bukit Tabur. (Taman Melawati Residents Association pic).

However, he said, despite directives from the state government and MPAJ to halt land clearing, it continued.

He claimed that soil erosion had exacerbated flooding in the area.

Zack said issuing orders to stop land-clearing activities were not enough. “Without enforcement, politicians and authorities will be pointing fingers at each other. The relevant authorities must ensure that their directives are followed,” he said.

MPAJ town planning department director Zuraina Said said Bukit Tabur itself was not being cleared, just some of the lots at the foot of the hill.

“The individuals who own these lots have a right to clear the land so long as they comply with the procedures,” she said.

She also said that no one was allowed to clear land at the top of the hill and that it was managed by Geopark Gombak and Hulu Langat. - FMT