Broga folks press on to save water catchment area
Claudia TheophilusPublished: Dec 2, 2004 11:43 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
The villagers of Broga have vowed to continue their fight to retain part of a water catchment area that was approved late last May for the construction of a 1,500-tonne plant scheduled to begin incinerating thousands of tonnes of municipal solid waste by 2007.
Broga villagers prepare to soldier on against the government's plan to proceed with the incinerator project, using the same contractor, albeit under revised contractual terms.
The villagers of Broga have vowed to continue their fight to retain part of a water catchment area that was approved late last May for the construction of a 1,500-tonne plant scheduled to begin incinerating thousands of tonnes of municipal solid waste by 2007.
The government plans to divert to Broga the waste stream that currently goes to the Puchong sanitary landfill near Kuala Lumpur. The incinerator will burn garbage generated mainly in the city and parts of Selangor.
The Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro-tem action committee has persistently opposed the siting of the RM1.5 billion incinerator plant within a forest reserve that is also a water source serving millions of households in the Klang Valley.
Thus far, repeated calls by residents and opposition parties to scrap the project have fallen on deaf ears.
The government has also maintained a stoic silence with regards the contract details since the project was relocated to Broga in November 2002.
Yesterday, Housing and Local Government Ministry Secretary-General Lokman Hakim Mohd Jasan was quoted in The Star as saying that the Broga project will proceed if the contractor complies with the conditions attached to the letter of acceptance that was re-issued on Oct 24.
No plans to defer it
This is despite minister Ong Ka Ting's promise to probe into Ebara's allegedly dodgy track record back in Japan and media reports of alleged corrupt practices, but he has said nothing since.
The conditions, unspecified by Lokman, are believed to be the same ones the Department of Environment (DOE) had attached to its conditional approval of the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) report late last May.
He reportedly said the project will proceed upon the contractor's acceptance of the conditions by the end of this month, failing which the government will decide on the next step.
He did not elaborate further but said the ministry, as project proponent, never had any plans to defer it and was in fact rushing for completion given that the Puchong sanitary landfill was scheduled for shutdown next month.
Lokman could not be reached today for further comment.
Tokyo-based Ebara Corp first secured the contract in February last year when the government placed a purchase order for heavy equipment. Ebara was hired to design, build and operate the plant.
However, it got into trouble early this year after the Malaysian government felt that it did not comply with the stipulated contractual terms, in particular the transfer of technology programme.
Ebara representatives in Malaysia could never be reached for comment so far.
Violates all laws
Expressing his disgust over the news, Broga sub-committee chairperson Dr Zulkefly Mohamad Omar said the residents have renewed their resolve to oppose the plant.
"The government obviously doesn't care about the rakyat's well-being. The question is why build something so risky in a gazetted water catchment area when it clearly violates all related laws?" he responded when contacted today.
"Furthermore, we have always maintained that municipal garbage is the responsibility of the respective local councils. So, why force garbage from all over Selangor and parts of KL down our throats in Broga and the surrounding areas?"
The re-issuance of the letter of acceptance to the same contractor despite a host of allegations, said Zulkefly, would certainly raise more than a few eye-brows.
The legal suit filed by the sub-committee at the Shah Alam High Court in November last year is still pending hearing.
"The court keeps postponing our case filed, and we don't understand why this is so but it is terrible. We will send a complaint letter to the chief justice (Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim) about the prolonged delay over such an urgent and important matter," said Zulkefly.
No response
The anti-incinerator Broga campaign has received the full support of local and international scientists and individuals who are pushing for alternative waste management methods in many countries, especially in the developing world.
Broga residents have repeatedly complained about the unofficial news blackout of their plight by the local print and electronic media over the last two years.
A complaint filed with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia in January this year regarding the media blackout has yet to bear any response.
In a letter dated Nov 4, the DOE informed the Broga sub-committee that the EIA for a sanitary landfill proposed nearby has been rejected on Sept 13.
The Broga area is also the site of the University of Nottingham's first campus outside of the UK.
The government plans to divert to Broga the waste stream that currently goes to the Puchong sanitary landfill near Kuala Lumpur. The incinerator will burn garbage generated mainly in the city and parts of Selangor.
The Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro-tem action committee has persistently opposed the siting of the RM1.5 billion incinerator plant within a forest reserve that is also a water source serving millions of households in the Klang Valley. Thus far, repeated calls by residents and opposition parties to scrap the project have fallen on deaf ears.
The government has also maintained a stoic silence with regards the contract details since the project was relocated to Broga in November 2002.
Yesterday, Housing and Local Government Ministry Secretary-General Lokman Hakim Mohd Jasan was quoted in The Star as saying that the Broga project will proceed if the contractor complies with the conditions attached to the letter of acceptance that was re-issued on Oct 24.
No plans to defer it
This is despite minister Ong Ka Ting's promise to probe into Ebara's allegedly dodgy track record back in Japan and media reports of alleged corrupt practices, but he has said nothing since.The conditions, unspecified by Lokman, are believed to be the same ones the Department of Environment (DOE) had attached to its conditional approval of the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) report late last May.
He reportedly said the project will proceed upon the contractor's acceptance of the conditions by the end of this month, failing which the government will decide on the next step.
He did not elaborate further but said the ministry, as project proponent, never had any plans to defer it and was in fact rushing for completion given that the Puchong sanitary landfill was scheduled for shutdown next month.
Lokman could not be reached today for further comment.
Tokyo-based Ebara Corp first secured the contract in February last year when the government placed a purchase order for heavy equipment. Ebara was hired to design, build and operate the plant.
However, it got into trouble early this year after the Malaysian government felt that it did not comply with the stipulated contractual terms, in particular the transfer of technology programme.
Ebara representatives in Malaysia could never be reached for comment so far.
Violates all laws
Expressing his disgust over the news, Broga sub-committee chairperson Dr Zulkefly Mohamad Omar said the residents have renewed their resolve to oppose the plant.
"The government obviously doesn't care about the rakyat's well-being. The question is why build something so risky in a gazetted water catchment area when it clearly violates all related laws?" he responded when contacted today.
"Furthermore, we have always maintained that municipal garbage is the responsibility of the respective local councils. So, why force garbage from all over Selangor and parts of KL down our throats in Broga and the surrounding areas?"
The re-issuance of the letter of acceptance to the same contractor despite a host of allegations, said Zulkefly, would certainly raise more than a few eye-brows.
The legal suit filed by the sub-committee at the Shah Alam High Court in November last year is still pending hearing.
"The court keeps postponing our case filed, and we don't understand why this is so but it is terrible. We will send a complaint letter to the chief justice (Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim) about the prolonged delay over such an urgent and important matter," said Zulkefly.
No response
The anti-incinerator Broga campaign has received the full support of local and international scientists and individuals who are pushing for alternative waste management methods in many countries, especially in the developing world.
Broga residents have repeatedly complained about the unofficial news blackout of their plight by the local print and electronic media over the last two years.
A complaint filed with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia in January this year regarding the media blackout has yet to bear any response.In a letter dated Nov 4, the DOE informed the Broga sub-committee that the EIA for a sanitary landfill proposed nearby has been rejected on Sept 13.
The Broga area is also the site of the University of Nottingham's first campus outside of the UK.
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