A TOTAL of 250,250.33ha of forests in Selangor have been gazetted as permanent reserves to date.
“This is equivalent to 31.65% of the entire Selangor.
“The gazettement was done under the Enactment (Application) of the Selangor Forestry Act,” said state tourism, environment and green technology, Orang Asli affairs committee chairman Hee Loy Sian at the Selangor State Assembly sitting.
Hee said this in response to an oral question on the status of forest reserves in Selangor.
Ronnie Liu (PH-Sungai Pelek) had raised the question on behalf of Dr Idris Ahmad (PH-Ijok), as the latter had tested positive for Covid-19 and was under quarantine.
The Selangor government had come under fire after it degazetted some 536.7ha of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) out of a total of 991.9ha for a mixed development project.
Due to the outcry, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had announced in September 2021 that the state would reverse the degazettement order on the KLNFR.
Juwairiya Zulkifli (PH-Bukit Melawati) asked a supplementary question on how the state government could ensure that the mangrove reserve in Taman Alam Kuala Selangor and its biodiversity would not be affected by eco-tourism.
“The state executive council had at a November 2021 meeting approved a proposal to develop Taman Alam Kuala Selangor as an international tourism attraction.
“However, there are a few items that need to be reviewed before this project can proceed,” said Hee.
“The northern part of Selangor such as Sekinchan lacks hotels of international status.
“So foreign tourists have to make day trips from Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya or Kuala Lumpur, which doesn’t have an economic impact on these tourist sites.
“The Selangor government is proposing that a potential investor be granted a special permit to build a hotel of international status in a designated area (in Taman Alam Kuala Selangor).
“No part of a permanent forest reserve will be degazetted for this development,” he added.
Hee said this was not the first such exercise, citing as examples chalets built in Taman Eko Rimba Komanwel and Taman Eko Rimba Kanching in Selangor as well as five-star hotels built in Taman Negeri Rompin, Pahang and Bako National Park, Sarawak.