It has been about one year since the Selangor government launched the Selangor Heritage Park. As a resident living nearby, I attended the launch.

According to the information given out on that day, the park area appeared to be huge. The deputy prime minister, who was the VIP for the launch, mentioned that the area was bigger than Kuala Lumpur and Perlis put together, or something like that.

It was a very exciting moment for me to learn of this park being established in such a busy state. But I must now ask, what has happened to this park?

The launch took place in Taman Melawati, at the foothills of the Klang Gate, a magificent rock outcrop. Yet I still see the squatters living at the foothills, and clearing taking place along the slopes.

Most troubling is the land being cleared at the foothills of the Klang Gate (near the Karak Highway), by DBKL for an integrated bus terminal. A big, messy bus terminal seems the exact opposite of protecting the area, and seems a very insulting response by the federal government to the efforts of the Selangor state government to protect the area.

The area is very beautiful, and the Selangor government should be commended for its intentions to protect it as a park. But one year later, we have to ask, was this all just an excuse for a launching, with no real intentions to create a park at all?