Bukit Bayu residents trying to stop potential development in Bukit Cerakah forest

SHAH ALAM (June 21): Residents of Bukit Bayu in Section 10, Shah Alam are trying to halt a potential development in an estimated five to six hectares (12 to 15 acres) of forested area in Bukit Cerakah.

It is believed that the land used to be part of some 1,000ha (2,471 acres) of the Bukit Cerakah Forest Reserve and it was de-gazetted by the previous state government.

The residents have spotted land clearing activities such as tree felling and rock explosions in that particular forested area on Monday (June 18) morning.

There had been neither any notifications regarding development on the land nor any signboards providing information on the land clearing activities at the site, according to the Association of Owners and Residents of Bukit Bayu (Persatuan Pemilik dan Penduduk Bukit Bayu).

Fahri Haminuzin, one of the residents in Bukit Bayu, said at a press conference today that the residents have done some investigations on their own and are trying to find out more details about the activities being carried out and the land status from the Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA), the Forestry Department and the Petaling Land District Office.

While residents failed to get any details about the land title from the land office, they managed to find out that the land belonged to a company named Usaha Semarak Sdn Bhd, said Nazri Elias, another resident of Bukit Bayu.

"However, it is not clear that whether the company has paid the land premium or not. Because if the premium has not been paid, the land technically still belongs to state government," he said.

"We also sent an email to MBSA and, surprisingly, MBSA told us this is under the Forestry Department. But the Forestry Department replied in an email that this is under MBSA," Fahri said.

"So where do we go now? We just don't know where we are heading," he asked

Kota Anggerik assemblyman Najwan Halimi, who was also present at the press conference, said he will be giving his full support to the residents to protect the forested area and propose to the Selangor state government to gazette the land as a permanent forest reserve area.

"We have to check the status first. We are not sure if the jurisdiction [of the land] is under the Forestry Department [or the local council]," he said on the sidelines of the press conference.

He will be requesting the MBSA to stop the current ongoing land clearing activities in the Bukit Cerakah forest, he added.

"I can also highlight this in the Dewan [Negeri Selangor] and ask the Department of Environment to rectify this issue," he said.