Sungai Buloh nursery operators facing eviction have been told they might be able to meet Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
About 30 nursery operators presented a memorandum to a representative of Amirudin at Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in Shah Alam yesterday.
“The Mentri Besar will likely arrange a meeting with the operators after Hari Raya to discuss this matter,” the representative told the group, adding that he would deliver the memorandum to Amirudin.
In the memorandum, the nursery operators occupying 66 lots along Jalan Sungai Buloh are requesting an alternative site for the relocation.
They were previously offered ex-gratia payment of RM10,000 each, which they are due to collect today.
According to the operators, they were told to move to Bukit Changgang in Banting which would serve as the Selangor nursery hub, in 2022.
In August 2024, they received a letter from PKPS asking if they were still interested in relocating to Bukit Changgang, to which most agreed.
However, they claim persistent issues with Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPS) failing to prepare needed infrastructure such as roads and drainage.
Nursery operator Lee Chee Hong said they want the state government to revive the Bukit Changgang site or offer a new one.
“We have a long-standing history of operating in Sungai Buloh, which is also known as Selangor Green Lane.
“All we are asking for is a replacement site to continue our business,” he said in a press conference at the State Secretariat foyer.
Lee said the operators were expected to attend the session for the ex-gratia payment organised by PKPS, but would refuse to accept the offer.
Another operator, Zainal Asri Che Omar said most of them had drawn for lots and paid a RM600 deposit to PKPS for the nursery set-up at Bukit Changgang in 2022.
A copy of the memorandum was also sent to PKPS.
On Feb 13, Selangor infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim said the state government wanted to reclaim the Sungai Buloh land for a long-delayed road widening project.
The nurseries, which occupy a stretch of 6km along Jalan Sungai Buloh, started operations in 1999 following the signing of an agreement with PKPS to occupy the land for horticulture purposes.
However, their Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) had not been renewed since 2008 because the land had large underground water pipes.
In 2019, some operators were asked to relocate to facilitate construction of Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (DASH) and road-widening works for a township development.
The first phase of operators, occupying over 10 lots, relocated to Kampung Chempaka in Petaling Jaya, while the second phase of over 10 lots moved to Bukit Cherakah, Shah Alam.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia central committee member A. Sivarajan, who was present at the press conference, urged the state government to stop the eviction, due by June 16, until a relocation site is identified.
