'Aggressive Plan B' against Kepong incinerator

Batu residents have come together to mount a lobby against the proposed Kepong incinerator in Kuala Lumpur.

At a meeting yesterday, Bandar Utara Residents Safety Action Committee chairperson Isaiah Jacob said that the KL mayor has not responded to their second attempt to engage him on the issue.

“Plan A has failed. Now we go aggressive,” he told the committee, as he balanced on his crutches.

Isaiah then laid out the outline of an awareness campaign to mobilise residents around Kuala Lumpur against the project.

The topics discussed range from a name-change for the committee - representing 15 residents’ associations - to better reflect their cause, to ways of minimising legal risk.

Unhappy that the government has not discussed the project with affected residents, they intend to further their reach to interested groups throughout Kuala Lumpur and even draw international attention.

The plans include signature campaigns, protests, leafleting campaigns, talks with government officials and merging with anti-incinerator groups in neighbouring Kepong.

Various concerns were highlighted, such as potential health consequences of emissions from the incinerator, the high cost of building and operating it, a potential increase in taxes to pay for this, and a likely drop in property prices.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan (right) had earlier said that the incinerator would be built next to the Taman Beringin solid waste transfer station.

The location is about a kilometre away from Metropolitan Park, which is a popular recreational park for flying kites, and about 10 kilometres from the city centre.

The open tender for the incinerator with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes of garbage per day was to have been called last month, but there is still no information on the tender notice on the websites of the relevant ministries.

‘Proceed with clear conscience’

Isaiah told Malaysiakini that he hopes to complete ‘Plan B’ by the end of next month.

“Most of (the residents)  are not aware of this (project),” he said, adding that it has received little media attention to date.

Also present at the meeting as an adviser was former Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu (left), who had also been an adviser in the successful five-year campaign to scrap the Broga incinerator in 2007.

He spent about 30 minutes recounting how the campaign against the Broga incinerator was won, and then provided suggestions and feedback.

“To fight them is very easy. It is very easy to get people to support you, you know what? Because the reasons are very valid. The dioxins produced by burning plastics is very real. They cannot challenge you...,” he said.

“No need to worry, because your conscience is clear. You are protecting your life, your health, your property value, and the environment. If you ask me, Malaysia cannot afford to have incinerators.”