About 100 residents have handed a memorandum to their elected representative to appeal against the proposed controversial mega-incinerator project in Broga, Selangor.

The eight-page memorandum meant for Beranang state assemblyperson Ahamad Kuris Mohd Nor was received on his behalf by Semenyih headman Mustafa Ibrahim yesterday

Ahamad Kuris had to cancel the appointment with the residents from Semenyih, Broga and Kajang at the last minute to attend another function.

The group, led by local anti-incinerator campaigners, wanted his help to forward their appeal to the relevant parties for a review and to stop the multi-billion ringgit project.

Residents disappointed

Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro tem action committee member Daniel Wong said they were frustrated with their wakil rakyat's absence.

"We are very disappointed that he did not turn up because he was the one who had blamed us for not approaching him with our grievances on this matter," he said in a statement.

The committee is lobbying the government to stop the construction of the proposed municipal solid waste thermal treatment plant on environmental and health grounds.

Similar memoranda have been sent to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, government and opposition MPs as well as Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting.

The committee, claiming to represent 80,000 people from 25 housing estates in and around Semenyih, also submitted written comments on the proposal to the Department Of Environment during the public feedback stage.

However, the commitee later declared that it had no faith in the environmental impact assessment conducted by a government-appointed consultant, who has since defended its independent study.

Public briefing

The committee has also written in for permission to use the multi-purpose hall at the Kompleks Penghulu Semenyih come July 27 for a public briefing on the project, which was initially to be sited in Kampung Bohol, Puchong.

The project was relocated to Broga following a huge public outcry, a signature campaign and a swift mood change among hundreds of thousands of residents, marked by open threats to vote for the opposition in the coming general election.

Contacted for details on the July gathering, committee chairperson Halil Hussain said about 2,000 residents are expected to turn up.

"I gave the letter to Mustafa on Saturday. He was positive about it. We want to explain to the local people the consequences of building an incinerator here," he said.

The pro tem action committee has also taken a stand against any incinerator project in the country.

Local and international anti-incinerator groups have based their arguments on scientific data on toxic emissions and the latest case studies on related industrial accidents in other poor and advanced countries.

Opposition party DAP has also taken up the anti-incinerator cause, having raised the matter several times in Parliament since last year.

There are also demands that the government scrap the deal with Tokyo-based Ebara Corporation, a prominent Japanese engineering company contracted to design and build the Broga plant, on the basis of its questionable track record.

The government has also proposed a sanitary landfill near to the incinerator site but further details are not available.