AMPANG Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) has denied claims that land around Zoo Negara in Hulu Kelang, Selangor, was changed from a recreational to a commercial zone, after news emerged that two plots there were sold to a private company.
This came after several civil societies on Oct 15 said those plots were initially meant for recreational use in the draft MPAJ Local Plan 2035, but were converted to commercial use in the gazetted plan.
MPAJ president Hasrolnizam Shaari said the local plan comprised three volumes, which must be read together.
“Our checks found that no changes in the zoning type were made to those plots around Zoo Negara, before and after gazettement.
“They (civil societies) might have referred to Volume One, which might not contain the full details,” he said when met at MPAJ full board meeting on Wednesday (Oct 22).
Elaborating on the matter, Hasrolnizam said that as the plots were privately owned by the Malaysian Zoological Society, there was no restriction on selling them.
“However, any developments taking place there must still comply with zoning regulations stipulated in the local plan,” he said.
He added that MPAJ had yet to receive any development applications for the area.
Responding to concerns about potential landslides due to future projects there, Hasrolnizam said all development proposals in hilly areas would be reviewed by Selangor’s technical committee for the development of environmentally sensitive areas, prior to consideration by MPAJ.
Last week, a group of activists held a press conference urging state authorities to intervene in the land sale.
They expressed worries that more development projects might crop up in the area, further disrupting the local environment and wildlife there.
In an Oct 14 report, Zoo Negara deputy president Datuk Rosly Lana revealed that the plots were sold during the Covid-19 pandemic to help sustain the wildlife sanctuary’s operation and finances.
Left with only RM1mil in savings, the zoo decided to sell the plots which it had owned since 1963, he added.
