I am writing with dismay to bring to the attention of the public the condition of one of our last beautiful green lungs within KL/Selangor, ie, Bukit Kiara. Being an avid hiker and biker, I use the trails at Bukit Kiara frequently, and just in the past two weeks alone, the damage that has been done to it is not just irresponsible, but also carries with it extensive and adverse effects to the ecological system not to mention the wildlife and the few hundred people who use the trails every week for exercise, especially on the weekends.

There have been excavators and tractors at work on the trails, supposedly widening the trails. Workers and Kuala Lumpur City Hall staff at the site tell us that the widening of the trails are for the King's ‘endurance horses’ to ride and exercise what with the Kiara Equestrian club located nearby and all.

Never mind that the method they use are crude, what with the excavators tearing through the trees and leveling the trails in the shortest time possible. What disturbs me more is that they way it is done, especially in the rainy season - all the earth will get washed out easily, causing erosion and landslides.

Doing some research (and common sense would tell you the same too), I found out that endurance horses require long distances of trail to train and exercise. However, the trails in Bukit Kiara are short and hilly, with a lot of steep slopes, with tree roots intertwining the trails, etc.

I can hardly imagine an endurance horse having to go through all that terrain, unless, of course, what is meant by an ‘endurance horse’ is that the horse has to endure all these technical obstacles in order to race. How is the terrain at Bukit Kiara suitable for training endurance horses?

Some of these original trails have, over the years, been painstakingly crafted and maintained by the trail-users, ie, hikers, joggers and bikers alike. At times it takes many weeks, sometimes months, to create and maintain these trails with care to minimise the environmental effects.

Yet in a matter of days, all that has become undone with the blatant actions of those who claim ignorance. Can you imagine how heartbreaking it is for those people who have poured in hundreds of man hours to link the trails and maintain them for the communal use of everyone? To see it all conveniently marked and bulldozed away by heavy machinery?

Thus, my question is this: is there really a directive handed down from the palace to find and open trails for the King's ‘endurance horses’ to train? Or is it just a means for some well-connected equestrians within DBKL or other similar positions, wanting to use the hills in Bukit Kiara for their own riding pleasure, while imposing he good name of our DYMM Yang Di Pertuan Agong?

There are organisations such as Traks and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) etc who have a keen interest in protecting the environment, looking at minimising ecological effects to nature. Would it not be possible to consult or work with these organisations to ensure that the impacts are kept to a minimal level?

After all, Bukit Kiara is one of the last remaining green lungs within KL and Selangor, with many different users of the trails and its surroundings. Are equestrian trail users so selfish that they do not care to share the trails with others while caring for the environment and our precious green spaces?