Opponents of the proposed RM1.5 billion incinerator plant in Broga today said that the government's week-long advertising blitz to promote the project is a clear sign that it has already decided to proceed with the project with or without an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

Since Monday, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government has taken out a series of 2-page advertisements in all local newspapers promoting the use of a "thermal treatment" approach to waste disposal in place of landfills.

Although an EIA report on the project is still pending, the ads named Broga in Semenyih as the location selected for the country's first modern thermal treatment plant.

Prof P Ramasamy, a member of the Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro tem committee, said the advertisements clearly showed that the government is planning to go ahead with the construction of the plant regardless of the strong opposition to the project.

Next move

"The ads give the appearance that the government will go ahead with the plan although the EIA report is not ready. There is also the possibility that the government will manipulate the EIA to serve their purposes," he said when contacted.

Ramasamy said the committee is pondering its next move which could include a police report against the Ministry of Housing and Local Government as well as a lawsuit.

"From these ads, we can tell that the government has already pre-empted the EIA report. This will be in our favour when we file a suit at the High Court," he noted.

Last Sunday, a 400-strong crowd turned up at a gathering organised by the No Incinerator committee outside the Semenyih community hall to protest the project.

The campaigners also launched its own legal fund to pool resources from residents in preparation for further action to halt the progress of the controversy-ridden project.

When contacted, officials at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government refused to answer enquiries about the advertising campaign.

The three-day old campaign is estimated to have cost the ministry close to RM1 million thus far.

Ads to hoodwink public

Meanwhile, DAP national publicity chairperson Ronnie Liu also criticised the ministry for publishing the ads which, he said, failed to take into account the health and environmental aspects of the project.

"These advertisements are being used to hoodwink the Malaysian public that the proposed RM1.5 billion Broga incinerator is clean and safe, with a better control of dioxin formation," he said.

Liu said the ad campaign failed to address several controversial issues, including the high cost of and unproven efficacy of the thermal incineration technology that has been chosen for the plant.

"The incinerator is like a cancer factory. It will inevitably produce dioxin, a cancer-causing agent and other poisonous elements such as lead and mercury.

"The Broga/Semenyih area is also a water catchment area which supplies water to no less than 1.5 million people in the Klang Valley and Putrajaya," he added.

Liu also questioned the stubborn refusal of Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting to meet with the residents on the pretext that the EIA report was still pending, while at the same time, confirming the project in the ads.

"Ong has repeatedly turned down the invitation from the Broga people for a dialogue, citing excuses such as "not to pre-empt the EIA report".

"But Ong did not honour his promise. He did not wait for the release of the report but instead chose to run the series of ads to convince Malaysians that the incinerator technology is a 'clean and smoke-free waste disposal system'," Liu said in a press statement yesterday.

Claim disputed

The DAP leader also protested at a subhead in some of the ads which claimed that most European countries and Japan have implemented integrated waste managements systems that include recycling, thermal treatment and landfill options.

"In actual fact, most Europan countries and Japan have now realised the grave consequences of thermal treatment technology, and they have decided to shut down their incinerators in stages. Some countries like the Philippines have even passed laws to ban all incinerators," he said.

Residents in the Semenyih and Broga areas have vehemently opposed the project, citing health and environmental concerns .

The incinerator was initially planned at Kampung Bohol in Puchong but it was relocated following strong protests to the less-densely populated Broga area.

The EIA report by government-appointed consultant Perunding Utama Sdn Bhd was earlier scheduled for release in May but it has since been postponed three times.