Three years on, the battle for an incinerator-free Broga is gaining momentum. Almost RM7,000 has been collected for the second legal action to stop the government's multi-billion ringgit project.

The first suit was filed by Kampung Broga residents seeking full details of the RM1.5 billion project and is pending in the Shah Alam High Court. Hearing continues on Jan 12.

Six plaintiffs from neighbouring Taman Tasik Semenyih (TTS) will now try to stop the project for the fluidised-bed gasification and ash-melting plant with a capacity to process 1,500 tonnes of solid municipal waste.

TTS committee member Victor Liew, one of the six plaintiffs, said they live about 1.5km from the project area.

"It is a long-standing problem which we have been monitoring before finally deciding to go ahead with the suit," he said when met at the TTS clubhouse near Broga.

On what kept them from doing so earlier, he said they were waiting for the outcome of the first suit.

"We started protesting together with the Kampung Broga residents but they decided to file first. To hold back was a strategic plan," he said.

"What is the point of the same people suing twice? We want the government to know that we are organising ourselves and we are serious about stopping the project."

Adding to Liew's explanation, Broga sub-committee chairperson Dr Zulkefly Mohamed Omar (left) said TTS residents had been caught in a dilemma when considering legal action.

"Many are academicians and high-ranking government officers. They had to look for six willing plaintiffs working in the private sector before deciding to proceed with the suit."

In updating matters on the main suit, he said the federal and state government lawyers have yet to respond.

"We are advising the TTS committee on how to go about their suit, protest campaign and so on," said Zukefly, a PAS leader who unsuccessfully contested the Lenggeng state seat in the last general election.

Political awakening

Except for occasional reports in the Chinese press, the efforts of some 200 Kampung Broga residents have long been stymied by an unofficial blackout in the print and electronic media.

The blackout has been in place since the incinerator project was first proposed in Puchong and then relocated to Broga on in 2002.

To get around this barrier, the political awakening experienced by those in and around Broga, particularly the Kampung Broga residents, has been chronicled in a 30-minute documentary launched at a fund-raising last Saturday.

The VCD is produced by ReelPower Production, an all-women team whose mission is "to use the moving power of film to advocate for social justice, freedom of expression and cultural pluralism".

Declared as "for private screening only", the VCD entitled Alice Lives Here is on sale at RM20 with all proceeds going to the TTS legal fund.

Committee member Alice Lee (left), one of the plaintiffs in the first suit, was happy with the turnout for the dinner despite heavy rain and the resulting congestion experienced by Kajang-bound motorists.

Expressing her gratitude over the documentary, she said it was creating interest and awareness among those who did know of the protest because of the media blackout.

"Ever since the documentary was made and screened to the public, people from Kuala Lumpur have been calling me expressing their concern and asking how they can support our cause."

She described how the callers were shocked to learn that the government had continued to ignore villagers' letters and requests for a meeting with the relevant ministers and officials.

"I'm confident that now more people will know about us and this issue. It is no longer a Broga issue. It is a national issue affecting millions simply because the water they drink is sourced from the Semenyih river near here," she added.

Among those present at the dinner were local PAS leaders and representatives of the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall youth section, human rights group Suaram and the Cheras Hokkien Association.