Federal Territories MCA has urged the government to put off the planned incinerator in Kepong as long as residents remain opposed to the project.

"If there are still residents in an area not prepared to accept an incinerator, then it should be shelved until every one of them can be convinced.

"If we forcefully implement the project, the government will only be seen as being insensitive to the people and turn them against the government," said Federal Territories MCA publicity bureau chief Lau Chin Kok.

Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan ( right ) has insisted that the incinerator would be safe, after a study trip to Japan to look at the technology.

However, Lau said any convincing by public officials carries little weight especially since they live far away from the planned incinerator.

"The local residents are the ones most affected. The officials can live far away from the incinerator, so whatever they say cannot match up to the voice of the local people," he said.

Lau said the government may refer to other countries for successful use of incinerators, but the main concern remains whether Malaysia can manage it properly once it is constructed.

"That is the main concern of the people," he said.

Lau acknowledged that many countries are relying on incinerators but the key to execution would depend on the government's ability to assure the local residents where the incinerator would be built.

A resident's group opposing the project have pointed out that although the government's study trip to Japan, the latter had in fact scaled down reliance on incinerators by 35 percent in the last two decades.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has also noted that the Auditor-General's Report 2012 has vindicated objections to incinerators, after the report found several problems with existing projects in other parts of the country.