KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 18 — A civil society group alleged today that the Selangor government’s development in parts of Bukit Cherakah Forest Reserve (BCRF) was legally questionable and environmentally harmful.
Shah Alam Community Forest (SACF) Society alleged that 1,114 acres of the BCRF located in Section U10, Shah Alam were wrongly considered for excision from the forest reserve, which would allow local authorities to approve private development in this area.
SACF further alleged that when the Selangor Town and Country Planning Department put forth plans to develop the forest for public scrutiny, it omitted that the forest was gazetted as a reserve.
One SACF founder Teckwyn Lim, an adjunct lecturer at the School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at University of Nottingham Malaysia, said a public hearing is needed when an area is designated for development but noted that some information was left out in this case.
“It’s really shocking that the department of town and country planning ignored the fact that this was a forest reserve, did not mention it was a forest reserve in the local plans and I think that calls into question the validity of the local plan.
“When it was open for public consultations they kept silent about the fact that this area was a forest reserve, which is grossly misleading to the public,” Lim said.
BCFR was constituted under a Selangor government gazette and originally comprised 23,826 acres. As of October 2020, following a total of four extensions and 21 excisions, the reserve had a net area of 6,482 acres remaining.
SACF said they discovered that parts of the area still remained a forest reserve yet development still took place and roads built, with further plans to commercialise the area and build houses.
Lim said the forest is home to 100 species of birds and mammals including eight species of gibbons, including the White-handed Gibbon, or Lar Gibbon, that is unique to Asia.
The White-handed Gibbon ranges from southern China, Burma, Thailand and Laos to Malaysia and Sumatra.
“This gibbon was first recorded in BCRF. Scientifically this makes it an important animal, along with the tapir many of which live within BCRF.
“However authorities who find stranded animals such as the tapir on the streets merely relocate them elsewhere. There is no sense of preserving these animals’ habitats,” said Lim.
As for the development of completed roads and buildings, the group said that from 2000-2003 about 40 acres of the forest reserve were logged to make way for about 2.3km of the road named Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari, part of the Puncak Alam/Batu Arang Highway (Selangor State Route B49).
From 2002-2007, about 10 acres of the forest reserve were logged for a 250m access road from the said highway to the Bukit Bayu township. From 2004-2010, about 150 acres of the forest reserve were logged for the Alam Budiman township.
From 2018-2020, about 10 acres of the forest reserve allocated to The Selangor State Development Corporation were logged for a 950m road connecting the Alam Budiman township (Persiaran Pulau Lumut) and Persiaran Setia Gemilang.
Also, there are ongoing earthworks, planned development of a township, cemetery and a 1km road through the forest.
Lim said they have written repeatedly to the state authorities and have done their due diligence with follow-up calls and attempts to meet to discuss the issue but all have been in vain.
On the whole, development continues in the forest.
The group said it will try to build a coalition of non-governmental organisations to pressure the Selangor government, failing which it would consider taking legal action.
“We want to build a stronger coalition and we invite resident associations to join us. We’re slowly building up to get the state to take us seriously,” Lim added.
