Selangor govt urged to stop plans to degazette Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve

PETALING JAYA: Umno has urged the Selangor Mentri Besar to stop the proposed plans to degazette the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) for development.

Its party information chief Shahril Hamdan said it does not make sense for the state government to degazette the KLNFR, saying that the Selangor state assembly in November last year had rejected any move to developed the area.

"As a final and drastic measure, the Federal Government may consider using the provisions of Article 83 of the Federal Constitution to take acquire the ownership of an area that had been degazetted - which is from the state government to the federal, before the state implements transfers to any company or entity," he said in a statement late Tuesday (Aug 31) night.

A total of 536.7ha of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) has been approved to be degazetted, with 45% of the original 991.9ha land facing a change in status.

Selangor state tourism, environment, green technology and Orang Asli affairs committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said the state exco met in May and decided to decrease the size of the land that faced degazettement.

Shahril said that it should not be the responsibility of the federal government to correct the mistakes of the state government.

"However, KLNFR is a priceless national asset based on the heritage and the future generation factor," he said.

He also warned that if the Selangor Mentri Besar or the state excos refused to heed the decision made in the state assembly, the voices of the people through public hearings, and those made on social media, stern action will be taken to address the issue.

The KLNFR — made up of reportedly 8,000-year-old forests — was gazetted as a permanent forest reserve (HSK) covering 7,246.96 hectares back in 1927. Today, only 957.6 hectares of the green lung is left, with 931.17 hectares of it endangered by the state government’s degazettement proposal.