First and foremost, I would like to state that I am not a member of PAS, Keadilan or DAP and hope that the government will read my letter without bias. I am from Semenyih and I live at Taman Tasik Semenyih.

The government's plan to have an integrated '3R waste management plan' by integrating recycling and incineration is a paradox of sorts. As far as incinerator operators are concerned, they can re-coup their investment by generating and selling electricity. Thus, the government must allow the operator to burn as much as they can to reduce the operational payment as electricity generation forms part of the income of the operator.

If some of these garbage is separated and recycled before incineration, then there's less 'fuel' to burn. Ask any primary school children and they will say that less fuel means less electricity. I humbly beg the government to think before making any statements o­n the so-called combination of incinerators and the '3R waste management plan'.

According to the government, the location of the incinerator is o­n a mountain slope which forms part of the Titiwangsa main range. Would this not damage the fragile soil stability o­n the range? We have seen many cases of landslides o­n the Plus highway near Rawang, the severe damage to the KTMB tracks and of course the fatal cases in Ampang.

The government also said that the toxic ash from the incinerator will be kept o­n site. This ash cannot be left o­n the surface as it very dangerous. That means that some form of digging must take place for ash storage. The continuous generation of ash from the incineration process means continuous digging o­n the slope. I think many civil engineers would concur that continuous digging o­n a hillslope is to be avoided unless o­ne has unlimited funds.

The incinerator site of 1,000 acres also sits o­n the slope which supplies tributaries to the Semenyih river. Wouldn't the site reduce the water catchment potential of this area? Would the water safe be enough to drink if the toxic ash containment system fails? I am beginning to suspect that the location was chosen largely because some officers in the Local Government and Housing Ministry did not understand contour lines o­n maps!

Electricity generation from the incinerator is large and amounts to about 30MW and requires large transmission pylons/lines to be built to the nearest main substation. The lines require a clearance of about 20-30m o­n each side of the line. Wouldn't this constitute damage to the natural environment with regard to the million-year-old forests? Wouldn't the lines be an eyesore o­n the beautiful range of mountains? Wouldn't these lines go through housing areas and kampungs?

Finally, based o­n the lack of soft loan from the Japanese government, the RM1.5billion will now incur a very high interest. The total cost after interest could be up to RM2 billion to RM3 billion - and that excludes the high operational cost. Imagine how many toll-free highways, schools, hospitals or clinics can be built with the same amount of money. If a school costs RM20 million to build, we could build up to 150 schools with same amount of money. Even if this project does not harm the environment or the residents around it, the ridiculous price of this monster is more than a deterrent to us the taxpayers.

The government said that the incinerator is safe and showed us many pictures of incinerators in towns and cities. The main difference is, this monster of Broga/Semenyih is in a sensitive area with slopes, virgin jungle and form a critical water catchment function for millions of Selangor people. I don't think even the Japanese would contemplate building an incinerator o­n the slope of Mt Fuji.

The above are some of the questions that the people of Broga/Semenyih want answers to. If the government is sincere in convincing us of the safety and feasibility of this project, it should be professional and address our questions.

(Note: Government representatives who can o­nly react by thuggery and calling us outsiders in our very own town need not respond.)