The government should first establish a proper legal framework and enforcement mechanism before considering incinerators as an option to deal with the country's piling garbage woes.

No Incinerator Semenyih/Broga protem action committee chairperson Halil Hussain said Malaysia currently has no laws to govern the monitoring of dioxin emissions such as in countries where incinerators abound.

"In fact, the closest reference (to burning) made under a sub-clause in the Environmental Quality Act 1974 is o­nly a 'penunu' or what we call a Bunsen burner," he said during a dialogue with government officials in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The session was arranged by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) following a memorandum from the residents committee appealing for its intervention after numerous requests for details o­n the project fell o­n deaf ears.

About 30 residents from Semenyih, Kajang, Broga and Beranang turned up at Suhakam for the much-anticipated dialogue but left angry and disappointed due to the no-show of a key official from the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Amend laws

Halil said that the building any incinerator, especially the proposed o­ne using the fluidized-bed gasification and ash-melting technology that has no track record yet, should be governed by laws.

"We have to amend our laws accordingly because there are no sensors for o­nline monitoring of dioxin emissions.

"In fact, we don't even have a lab that can monitor dioxin continuously. The o­nly available testing for dioxin is by soil sampling."

Even Japan, he said, which has more than 1,000 incinerators built over several decades, has just started a two-year pilot project o­n the same technology which has been proposed for the RM1.5 billion Broga plant.

The dialogue went o­n smoothly except for several occasions when residents got emotional and vented their frustrations over contradictory official statements and lack of relevant information o­n the project.

On the issue of unplanned development, Halil said the draft 20-year development outline for Kajang, Beranang and Semenyih that the state government had released in mid-2002 never mentioned any incinerator plants.

Due to the engineering background of several committee members, the questions focused o­n specific areas including the type of incinerator technology proposed and the compliance of relevant procedures.

The officials from the Department of Environment (DOE) and the Selangor government were floored by a barrage of questions by the residents o­n the above issues.

One resident, who had just returned from the US after living there for 20 years, said dioxin was o­ne of the main components used to make Agent Orange, a devastating nerve gas used during the Vietnam War.

Over-simplified analogies

Another irate resident complained that he felt insulted by a briefing o­n Jan 11 by officials from the Selangor government and the ministry for village heads and local politicians.

"The officials were manipulating the village heads by giving over-simplified analogies of dioxin emissions such as from exhaust fumes, cigarette smoking and satay roasting.

"Does the government actually take us for idiots? I feel we are being manipulated and treated like fools because the government thinks people will not understand the subject."

When accused by the residents that the DOE had failed to follow proper procedures, the department's evaluation director Aziz Rasol maintained that the approach and procedure taken have been consistent.

"The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for Kampung Bohol, Puchong, was approved with 44 conditions solely based o­n the technical and scientific findings contained in the study, and the study for Broga will be assessed o­n the same basis."

On whether the initial project in Puchong was cancelled due to a defective EIA study, Aziz said the approved EIA report is already gazetted and "the government can build an incinerator there anytime".

Public sentiment

Earlier, Suhakam Commissioner Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan said those in power should take note of public sentiment in matters like these.

He said there was a tendency for contradicting statements to emerge every time mega-projects get o­n to the government's drawing board.

"These statements sound as if the proposed projects have already been approved, thus giving the impression that the EIA will be done and somehow fit in later.

"In this borderless world, there is no stopping people from seeking more information and education, especially through the Internet."