KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6: Residents of Inwood Residences, a condominium that lies near the foothills of Bukit Gasing and said to have been sold on the basis of “living next to a reserved forest”, have started to protest what they claim is a sudden development taking place at the forest area.
Speaking to Weekly Echo, several residents have alleged that the development of a car park, joggers lane and other activities had started in a most hurried manner following a brief call for residents to attend a dialogue session with the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL).
“Most of the residents got notification of the meeting at the last minute and could not even attend to express their regret of such a sudden development,” alleged one of the residents of the condominium.
“The session for residents to voice out, should have been extended but the manner in which it was done was hurried,” the resident said.
“There is no justification for the development of the car park or joggers park, where the original flora and fauna are being removed to be replaced with landscaping. This place is among the remaining green lungs in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya areas. Besides It is such a waste of resources to remove the natural trees only to do landscaping,” said the resident who is an IT personnel with a company.
“I bought the condo for the very reason that it is next to a forest reserve that will not be touched. Now, the information in the developer’s marketing brochures still continue to use the tag of being next to a forest reserve, despite the new development plan,” said another resident.
“If development is taking place in the area, then the marketing claims would be legally and morally wrong, and the advertisements cannot claim to the place being next to a forest reserve. It is misleading,” he said.
Another resident, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she was more worried about the current rainy season and the possible landslides in the area. “Some clearing works have already begun and this is a worrying matter.”
“The area has already experienced landslides during rainy weather. Any further development in the area, which is a really a slope, I believe, will only raise the risks for landslides. What if our condominium gets affected by a landslide?
“City folks are already living with unhealthy air, which gets further polluted in the event of fires, haze and lack of rain. This precious heritage of the remaining green lungs in the Klang Valley must be treasured if not for the present generration but for the coming generation of Malaysians,” she said.
“There seems to be a serious land grab issue, either for infrastructures that people are not asking or other commercial puposes with profit in mind,” said another resident who works for a legal firm.
“This place, originally under the Bukit Kerinchi Forest Reserve, was sold to IJN Developers and converted into a commercial area, but now the expansion seems to be still ongoing, and possibly converted for development,” he claimed.
He also said under the 2020 and 2040 KL Dvelopment Plan, there were assurances of certain amount of green space saved but the latest development of removing the trees in place of a park makes no sense.
The original flora and fauna should be left alone, he said, adding that it takes years for a regenerate once its species are removed and consideration should be also given to the birds and other animals living in the area, making it a lively forest.
“With climate change, and all possible efforts being taken to cut down carbon emissions, it makes no sense to remove these trees, just to replace them with some “pretty” landscaping,” he added.
— WE