Hearing postponed after anti-incinerator group protests exco chairing meeting
Zarrah Morden
Published: Feb 10, 2025 6:53 PM
Updated: 10:01 PM
Summary
- A public hearing on the Selangor Draft Structure Plan 2035 has been pushed to a later date after the Rawang Tolak Insinerator Network (RTI) raised conflict of interest concerns.
- Ng Suee Lim agrees to recuse himself from chairing the meeting after the group requested him to do so.
- This is as the state exco also chairs board of directors for KDEB Waste Management which is the incinerator project operator.
A public hearing on the Selangor Draft Structure Plan 2035 has been postponed after the Rawang Tolak Insinerator Network (RTI) raised conflict of interest concerns involving the state exco chairing the meeting.
The group's spokesperson Abdul Hanan Abd Mokti requested Ng Suee Lim to recuse himself as the local government, new village development and tourism exco also chairs the board of directors for KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd, the project operator for the proposed RM4.5 billion incinerator.
Hanan told reporters after the hearing that Ng agreed to the request and would reschedule the hearing with another chairperson.
In a press conference, Ng said he had "no problem" with the request.
"I respect their concerns," he said, adding that the Selangor state government is transparent.
Other state executive council members, such as Idzham Mohd Hashim or Borhan Aman Shah, can chair the future hearing, he added.
The group's spokesperson Abdul Hanan Abd Mokti requested Ng Suee Lim to recuse himself as the local government, new village development and tourism exco also chairs the board of directors for KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd, the project operator for the proposed RM4.5 billion incinerator.
Hanan told reporters after the hearing that Ng agreed to the request and would reschedule the hearing with another chairperson.
In a press conference, Ng said he had "no problem" with the request.
"I respect their concerns," he said, adding that the Selangor state government is transparent.
Other state executive council members, such as Idzham Mohd Hashim or Borhan Aman Shah, can chair the future hearing, he added.
State exco Ng Suee Lim
According to Hanan, around 70 residents showed up for the public hearing today.
Batu Arang community activist Ravy Shanker, 63, told Malaysiakini that more people would have come if not for the hearing being timed close to Thaipusam and Chap Goh Mei celebrations.
Last month, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the proposal for the incinerator has yet to be finalised.
This is despite the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) last September approving the land-use change for the site.
Town hall demand
Hanan said the group demands a town hall session with Amirudin, for the latter to answer questions residents have on the proposed incinerator.
According to Hanan, around 70 residents showed up for the public hearing today.
Batu Arang community activist Ravy Shanker, 63, told Malaysiakini that more people would have come if not for the hearing being timed close to Thaipusam and Chap Goh Mei celebrations.
Last month, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the proposal for the incinerator has yet to be finalised.
This is despite the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) last September approving the land-use change for the site.
Town hall demand
Hanan said the group demands a town hall session with Amirudin, for the latter to answer questions residents have on the proposed incinerator.
He said that RTI had originally planned to raise five points on the incinerator's development process during the hearing - transparency concerns, the incinerator's effects, health impacts, dangers connected to Batu Arang's geological structure, and the town's status as a World Heritage Geopark.
The media had been barred from sitting in on the hearing, which Hanan described as a "contravention to the principles of transparency and justice."
Independent researcher Wong Yuen Mei, who was present in support of RTI, expressed vehement rejection for the concept of waste-to -energy (WTE) incinerators.
Researcher Wong Yuen Mei
"Just released scientific research has proven that WTE (technology) is harmful for the people, the environment and climate change," she said.
In a statement, she called for the state government to refer to the European Union Taxonomy Regulation, which removed WTE incinerators from the definition of environmentally sustainable.
She said that it had also denied incinerators as a cyclical economic activity.
"Just released scientific research has proven that WTE (technology) is harmful for the people, the environment and climate change," she said.
In a statement, she called for the state government to refer to the European Union Taxonomy Regulation, which removed WTE incinerators from the definition of environmentally sustainable.
She said that it had also denied incinerators as a cyclical economic activity.
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