PETALING JAYA (July 20): Bukit Bayu residents are worried about activities in the forest near them, after hearing what sounded like an explosion in the area. At the Bukit Cerakah Forest Reserve trailhead, construction on developments is supposed to have stopped.

According to Bukit Bayu resident, Gobindran Krishna Murty, the land in question is owned privately. 

“We do not know much about it (land status) and we are waiting for answers.

“We have done our best to voice our concerns, but the Selangor government needs to do something about this matter,” he said to The Star.

In an effort to ensure that there was an Environmental Impact Assessment report on the development project, a letter was sent to Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, signed by Bukit Bayu Residents Association, Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), Treat Every Environment Special (TrEES) and Global Environment Centre (GEC). The appeal was directed to the state and local authorities to issue a stop-work order for all forest area development activities around Section U10.

Additionally, the letter requested for a thorough study conducted on the flora, fauna, and habitat preservation, for a nature management plan, and that the land use requirements and land ownership status be identified. If the projects were found to negatively impact the environment, they should be stopped. 

Gobindran, speaking to The Star, said immediate action needed to be taken in order to prevent land erosion, and noted that muddy water from cleared land nearby, flowed into the forest during heavy rain. 
Environmental NGOs weighed in, saying there was an increased risk of flash floods, soil erosion and landslides. The issues were brought forth to Kota Anggerik assemblyman Najwan Halimi, representative from the Forestry Department.

“I am still waiting for the list of owners and to hear the state government’s final decision,” said Shanmugaraj Subramaniam, MNS environmental education division executive director, adding that about 202ha of the forest was not under the forest reserve, and that some was privately owned.

Although Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and Petaling District Land Office representatives had visited the site, he had not received any feedback. 

He also said the Forestry Department said they had not received a letter seeking approval for land clearing or tree felling.

As reported by The Star, GEC forest and coastal programme coordinator Nagarajan Rengasamy said the forest reserve was environmentally sensitive, and the last remaining patch of low land with mineral soil and an important water catchment area.

He added that the moratorium on logging should be extended to include such areas. 

Forestry representative Najwan said that the activities in the forest area were being monitored by MBSA and the land office. 

“The land is a private area but the status of it is unknown. There are no illegal activities going on,” he said to the daily. 

Najwan said that there had been a landslide in the forest, at the entrance next to Bukit Bayu, which accounted for the “explosion” residents heard. 

He said that he would meet with MBSA next week to resolve if the land in question could be put under forest reserve. 
 

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