Frustration, anger and a sense of helplessness have pervaded the sleepy hollow of Broga, as residents contemplate the final steps being put in place to build a 1,500 tonne incinerator plant on a steep slope behind the village in Semenyih.

Irate businessman Gan Hin Lee, 50, summed up the concerns, saying: "We can't sleep well because we're worried about the health of our children and grandchildren. Our village is closest (less than one kilometres) to the proposed site."

His wife Kok Fui Far interjected: "We still don't understand how the government can approve the project in a water catchment area, especially with news every other month about water contamination in Sungai Semenyih or one of its tributaries.

"Every time this has happened, the water treatment plant had to be shut down. It shows that the plant can't deal with contamination. But we are the ones who have to live with the health hazards and disruption of water supply to our homes."

The proposed site is within a forest reserve and a river basin that is the source of water supply to over 300 residential estates in Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya, Sepang, Putrajaya. Subang, Shah Alam, Beranang, Kajang, Semenyih and Serdang.

Over the past 18 months, Broga residents have had to take a crash course on incinerator technology as well as to understand the impact of operations on the environment, water supply and health. This knowledge has become the mainstay of a strong lobby against the project.

The authorities, however, have maintained a stony silence broken only by sporadic attempts to placate the public.

Strong opposition

Octogenarian Ng Yuen Siong faces the prospect of losing part of his durian orchard and rubber smallholding. The land may be acquired to install high-tension pylons to transmit electricity generated by the incinerator to the national power grid.

"What hurts most is that our government has cheated us when we had trusted it to take care of us. We thought it would protect our rights and interests, but it has decided to gamble with our health and that of future generations," said octogenarian Ng Yuen Siong.

"Why is it that the government refuses to listen to what we have to say? After two years of sending letters and faxes, (Housing and Local Government Minister) Ong Ka Ting has yet to even acknowledge our existence or visit Broga!

"The government has forgotten that people make up the government. It is not the other way around. Without the people, there is no government."

Khong Yok Ying, 70, is especially concerned about dioxin emissions from the proposed incinerator and the risks to health, especially the potential for cancer.

"My children saw the news on TV where the government said that Japan was safe although it had thousands of incinerators and that people living adjacent to incinerators were healthy and happy," she said.

"But I heard from the Japanese people who visited Broga that t he situation is bad in Japan. In some areas, doctors are advising mothers not to breast-feed their newborns and farmers are having problems selling their fresh produce."

Khong said Broga residents may be simple-minded villagers but "we are certainly not stupid...we know about the health risks posed by the plant, especially to our lives, livelihood and our beautiful surroundings".

Another octogenarian Piang Kiew said she has lost her appetite along with her sleep.

"Even I know that incinerator emissions are bad for health, so why doesn't the government know this? Or is it only pretending not to know this?

"In all my 80 years. I've never opposed any government project but I will continue to oppose this because there are too many health risks and unanswered questions."

Technician Yong Kim Leong, 41, said that as an MCA member he had raised the people's protests with his party colleagues but in vain.

"The village chief, who is the local MCA leader, went on a government-sponsored trip to Japan and returned with feel-good stories about the cleanliness, safety, scenic landscape of incinerator plants there," he said.

He claimed that local MCA members had agreed to support villagers' protests in the early stages but that they had since changed their tune, citing party policy.

Loss of confidence

Some villagers said they cannot shake off their feeling that their lives will be endangered by dioxin poisoning or water contamination.

"I've lost confidence in the government. I'm not sure if I should pack and leave or remain here. I'm confused and very disturbed by these developments," said Chin Lee Ping, a 65-year-old grandmother of 10, who still goes jogging every morning.

"The air is so fresh that I don't feel old at all. I have been heartbroken from the moment I heard about the project. Our lives will not be the same again. Everything is going to change for the worse for us."

A bitterly disappointed Wong Kat Kiong, 50, said it was unfair to force Broga villagers to live with the project.

"Cancer (caused by dioxin) takes time to manifest itself in humans. By the time it does, it may be too late to reverse the contamination of water, air and soil," he said.

Wong said his friend who works in Japan recently returned with reports on the high number of asthma, cancer and contamination cases there.

While at his age he is still able to go hunting and trekking, he said his grandchildren may end up in hospital "suffering from cancer".

Weekend getaway

Broga is also a popular weekend getaway for city-dwellers, some of whom come from as far as Singapore. Its main attraction is the 150-year-old Sak Dato temple, to which busloads of devotees are drawn.

While anglers head for the Semenyih dam, outdoor enthusiasts and mountain-bikers find plenty of challenges in the surrounding hills. The villagers frequently hunt wild boar and birds, or go fishing and trekking themselves.

First-time visitors are certain to fall for the charm of Broga's pristine surroundings - rolling hills, well tended gardens, neat rows of woodand-brick houses, and the smell of fruits and flowers.

There are orchid and chicken farms, papaya orchards, and banana and oil palm plantations. The main roads are lined with hundreds of durian trees, interspersed with rambutan, pulasan, starfruit and mangosteen trees.

The close-knit community displays a spirit of kinship that has long disappeared from urban-based neighbourhoods.

A favourite pastime among residents is to catch up on the news with neighbours at a coffee shop. These days, though, there is only one topic of conversation.