The controversial mega-incinerator in Broga is likely to hit a major snag - its new site consist of a plot of land owned by one of its most ardent critics.

"We will never give up our land (for its construction)," said Alice Lee when met yesterday. Her mother owns an orchard, which is part of the land earmarked for the controversial incinerator.

Lee, who have been actively campaigning against the RM1.5 billion incinerator project for more than three years, is widely regarded as the catalyst behind the stubborn resistence of the residents in the Semenyih area against the incinerator.

She also represents the 500 residents of Kampung Broga, Semenyih, where she resides, as a plaintiff in two separate legal suits against the authorities on the incinerator.

Her grit has won her the admiration of villagers and residents of surrounding towns, and Lee also inspired a 30-minute video documentary on the villagers' struggle against the incinerator.

Like other concerned villagers, Lee came to know about the new site through an addendum to a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) report released on Dec 8.

Intrusion into orchard

According to the new EIA, the plant will be relocated 200 metres from its original site - from a forest reserve area to a plot of private agriculture land.

"For several months, we saw people coming into our orchard without permission to survey the land. That was when we got suspicious," Lee said.

According to her, the surveyors stuck markers onto the ground which Lee's mother would promptly remove.

However, the markers often reappeared the following day. This 'stick-in-and-remove-later' process occurred several times between July and October this year.

The construction on the new site will be carried out after the Department of Environment (DOE) approves the EIA for the new site, which is presently open for public feedback.

Lee ruled out the possibility of EIA investigators surveying the area as their report for the new site was completed in March this year.

She claims that land acquisition activities are already taking place - some land owners have received offer letters.

"They are afraid that if they don't sell now, the government might just take the land without any compensation at all," said Lee, who works as a clerk in a furniture factory.

As for Lee and her family, they have told the Land Office that there are legal proceedings pending and that no acquisition letters would be entertained until these proceedings are done with.

Secretive process

Meanwhile, the residents in Broga are also upset that there was no proper public announcement about the relocation.

Like Lee, most residents heard rumours about the move and only had their fears confirmed after being briefed about the EIA report on the new site.

After studying the report, the Semenyih/Broga No-Incinerator pro-tem committee last night briefed town folks about the implications.

Committee chairperson Dr Zulkefly Mohamed Omar slammed the authorities for charging RM450 for each copy the two-inch thick EIA report, which has to be pre-ordered two weeks beforehand.

"The additional EIA report should be public property and be made available for public scrutiny free of charge," said Zulkefly.

"It is also published in English. Only one or two percent of the residents are fluent in English. It shows the government is not sincere in getting public feedback on the report,".

Public feedback on the report must reach the DOE before Jan 19 next year.

Zulkefly also questioned why the new EIA report, which was completed in March 2005 as mentioned on its cover, was only released eight months later.

"Perhaps it is because the authorities wanted to wait for the holiday period and thus parents would have no time to study the report and give proper feedback in time," he said at a press conference after briefing the residents.

The only public announcement on the new report came through a notice in the New Straits Times on Dec 8.

During the briefing, Lee urged residents not to sell their land if the government tried to acquire them.

"While they have a right to take your land, we need to try to stop them from buying them for the greater good of everyone here," said Lee, drawing applause and cheers from the 50-odd crowd.