Residents in and around Semenyih, Broga, Lenggeng and Kajang are appealing to the premier to review two major projects in Broga - the approved construction of a multi-billion ringgit giant incinerator plant and a proposed sanitary landfill.

Reiterating their protests in a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sept 2, the Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro tem action committee said it wants him to personally listen to their plight. They have sought an appointment with him.

"We, the citizens of Malaysia, fully understand the problem of waste management in the country. We also appreciate the government's desire to handle the issue before it reaches a critical point," reads the four-page memorandum, a copy of which was made available to malaysiakini.

"However, we believe that all possible solutions begin with how issues are handled, including weeding out root problems in the handling of waste, such as separation at source, re-use, recycling, clean production and composting."

On June 17, the Department of Environment (DOE) had given conditional approval to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the RM1.5 billion project scheduled to come on stream in 2007.

The decision sparked public outrage particularly among Broga new villagers who have persistently opposed the project that sits on a hillslope within a water catchment area that is a gazetted forest reserve.

As it is classified an environmentally-sensitive area, state laws strictly prohibit the siting of any sewerage treatment plant or municipal waste landfill within or close to the Semenyih water catchment which primarily serves 333 housing estates in the Klang Valley.

Gross injustice

In its memorandum, the committee said incinerator plants that are designed and tested in developed countries such as Japan may result in a host of problems or fail to function properly in developing countries like Malaysia.

"(This may be) due to differences in the waste stream, enforcement and administrative structure, lack of funding for spare parts, shortage of skilled workforce and an economic system that is more inclined towards manpower than capital."

The committee also hoped that Abdullah would be able to provide them with more information on the incinerator plant.

"Given that he has met with incineration experts on the 'good and bad' of incinerators, we hope he will also give scientists who advocate alternative clean waste disposal methods an opportunity to present their case," said the committee.

The memorandum cited dioxin emission and mercury, among other known contaminants, as potential hazards to public health, supported by recent research findings in Europe and Japan.

Abdullah was asked to consider the financial burden and economic cost of building a modern incinerator, which the committee insists is the most expensive waste management method.

"The construction and maintenance costs alone would amount to millions of US dollars which the public eventually will be forced to bear," it said.

"The incinerator contractor has already planned a complex financing scheme to deceive the Malaysian government into long-term repayment commitment, spelling disaster for local governments."

The committee added that the practice of siting an incinerator in low-cost housing areas populated by those who are economically- and politically-weak to object to such projects goes against the grain of environmental justice.

To date, the government has not responded to sustained protests by residents, who have the support of opposition parties PAS and DAP, as well as the local and international anti-incinerator activists.