PETALING JAYA, July 7 – Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Amiruddin Shari must clarify the confusion surrounding the land status of a section of Bukit Cerakah in Selangor, says Otai Reformis Secretary Abdul Razak Ismail.
“Land titles in the area was given long before a purported degazettement in November 2000 approved by the state executive council during Barisan Nasional administration and this was only announced in May this year…22 years later?” Razak told Weekly Echo.
“It is all so mysterious. Is this even legal? The land area including the disputed area, namely section 10U, Shah Alam, in Bukit Cerakah had been all gazetted as a forest reserve in1927 and there had been no announcements of any degazettement but land titles in the said area had been given to private property developers and government linked corporations,” he said.
“Former Bar Council President AG had clearly called on the Selangor Government in November 2021 to take responsibility in any exercise involving permanent forest reserves. He had also said if the due process of excision of the forest area had not been followed, the state must take it as the land remains protected,” Razak said.
Meanwhile, environmental and forestry researcher Teckwyn Lim had highlighted the issue at a forum recently.
He had questioned the legality of the 400 hectares of forest reserve that had been degazetted without any public inquiry.
This, he said, was against the law set by the Selangor state government in 2011 where a public inquiry must be held to take out any land from the forest reserves.
— WE