State Secrets? – Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve

Why is the OSA used to avoid scrutiny over quarrying in forest reserves?

Updated 12.3.2023

The Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve is one of the few natural green belts around the highly urbanized Klang Valley. The forest reserve runs from Templer Park near Rawang to the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), on the outskirts of Kepong. It’s an important natural habitat and greatly assists in minimizing flooding due to absorption of rainfall into the soil. The area is the habitat of a number of native tree and plant species, rare outside the habitat, some with great medicinal potential.

The Selangor State Legislative Assembly approved a 25 year moratorium on any deforestation activities at the forest reserve from 2010 to 2035. However, the state government has sidestepped its own moratorium through the provision under Section 28 of the Selangor Forestry Act, which allows for issuing of permits for commercial activities in forests.

This has allowed land clearing, logging, and the preparation for quarrying over an area of 887 Ha across the forest reserve.

State GLCs have moved in to exploit the area

Forest reserve lands have been sold off in the Rawang and Sungei Buloh areas to two state owned companies. One company is under the Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), and another under the Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB), a state sovereign corporation. Both companies are chaired by the present chief minister Amirudin Shari.

Forestry Department also exploiting the forest reserves

Another company, owned by the Koperasi Jabatan Perhutanan Negri Selangor (Selangor Forestry Department Cooperative) also has a parcel of land for quarrying, where past and present forestry employees can invest.

Other concessions filled with political and royal connections

One quarry developer, Jernih Jasa Intan Sdn Bhd. (JJI) has two politically connected shareholders. One shareholder, Razali Ramly was Azmin Ali’s special electoral office. Another shareholder, Khairul A Rahman Afiq A Rahman’s father A Rahim Ahmad Kasadi is the current Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari’s political secretary.

Other quarry developers have directors linked to royalty. The Registrar of Companies documents show three developers, Sodc Global Network Sdn. Bhd., Genius Force Sdn. Bhd., and Pioneer Highland Sdn. Bhd. have royal shareholders.

The state has opened up parcels within the forest reserve, where land is being sold in parcels for RM 150,000 for the purposes of quarrying, under a leasehold. Twenty-eight parcels are up for sale on EdgeProp listings at the time of writing. These listings cover approximately 35 percent or 40,000 Ha. of the forest reserve.

In July last year, PKR state legislative assembly person Elizabeth Wong asked for a list of quarry operations within Selangor. In a reply from the state executive, 8 active quarry sites were operating in forest reserves, six of them within the Bukit Lagong forest reserve. The first permit was granted in 1992, and the last permit in 2002.

Official Secrets Act

Otai Reformasi, an environmental activists group made a freedom of information request to the Selangor State Government under the State Freedom of Information laws. However, the Secretariat of the Selangor State Government replied, stating any information about quarrying at the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve was classified as ‘confidential and secret’ under the Official Secrets Act.

No environmental impact studies have been undertaken on these operating quarries, where fauna and flora is being destroyed. These areas are also encroaching on Orang Asli lands. The Orang Asli on these lands have never been granted land titles for the areas they hunt and gather from, for many generations.

A small group have been granted access to undertake rent-seeking activities, which have no public benefit, except to destroy valuable natural buffer zones around urbanized Klang Valley.

Report to the MACC

Green Party Malaysia (TGP) secretary general Abdul Razak Ismail said a report was lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the Selangor office in October 2022. He was told the case file was transferred to the MACC headquarters in Putra Jaya. Early January, a letter was written to the MACC to find out the status of any investigations.

This has been met with silence.

There are a number of MACC cases that are now in silence. These include the Zeti Akhtar Aziz case, the Judge Nazlan case, the LCS project case, and the Invoke investigations. Finally, shouldn’t have the directors of Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd alos been charged along side Muhyiddin Yassin?

Subscribe Below: