Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo must make up his mind soon on what should happen to the Ulu Kelang Recreational Club (UKRC) football field in Kampung Kuala Ampang.

The field has been earmarked for development but that had been put on hold for the time being.

The residents of the village are keen to see mixed development in that field so that they can enjoy better housing facilities while the private club is saying that the field must be preserved in the interest of sports.

To date, Mohd Khir has yet to make a decision on how to solve the problem surrounding the four acre field, located at the edge of the village which is about 30-minutes away from the city centre

He was to have met the residents on July 3 before making a final decision but at the last moment, for reasons only known to him, it did not take place. In fact, Mohd Khir even said he was not aware of the planned visit!

Originally Mohd Khir had agreed for the development project but after much protest from environmental groups and sports lovers, he backtracked on that plan in late May and said he would convert the field into a green lung.

He also took away the field from UKRC's control and gave it to the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ).

Villagers' choice

The majority of the 6,000 villagers in the area support development there. They fully back their Village Safety and Development Committee (JKKK) which wants to see proper housing for the 150 squatters in the village. The remaining 450 households stay in leasehold land in the village proper.

There are also other personal interests for the villagers for the development project to proceed. At present, most households have joint families and they would like to move out to live on their own, but at the same time stay closer with other family members.

The villagers claim that Mohd Khir was wrong to suspend the development project. They say those protesting against the project are from outside the village and thus have no say whatsoever in determining what should happen in a land belonging to the village.

Since the suspension of the development project, the villagers have been meeting regularly on how to solve this problem.

It is to convey this overwhelming response of the villagers that the JKK had invited Mohd Khir to the village.

Visit cancelled

The menteri besar was very receptive to this and was even reported as saying that his final decision on the project will reflect the villagers' wishes.

Thus when his office finally said that he would be able to visit the village on the afternoon of July 3, the villagers were elated.

However, this did not materialise. One day before the scheduled visit, Mohd Khir had said that he was not even aware of the visit - and that it was not even on his diary - much to the chagrin of the villagers. He said that he had to be in Japan for an official visit on that day.

So what went wrong?

On one hand, there is a confirmation from the MB's office of the date. And then there is this visit by the new MPAJ president Ramli Mahmud to the village in late June in which he too had confirmed Mohd Khir's proposed visit.

A few days before the scheduled visit of Mohd Khir, MPAJ had put up banners and bunting in the village to welcome him.

With all these taking place, how can Mohd Khir say he was unaware of the visit.

This can't be due to some miscommunication problem. Is there something more behind this sudden decision by Mohd Khir not to visit the village? Is he afraid to make a decision that could be politically wrong?

Fine mess

There is no doubt the MB is in a fine mess here. In one hand, his reputation will take a beating, especially from the media that vocally supports UKRC, if he listens to the villagers and approves the development project. And he needs the media to promote him as an able politician, especially if reports of him vying for the Umno Youth chief post are correct.

On the other hand, if he protects the playing field, the villagers might decide to show their disapproval during the next general election, due to be held anytime before November 2004.

Kampung Kuala Ampang has traditionally been a safe BN seat and if the MB wants his vision to make Selangor opposition-free, then he must be swayed by the wishes of the people.

And in this case, the overwhelming choice of the villagers concerned is for development.

It's a Hobson's choice for Mohd Khir, no doubt, but he should not be calculating his political moves in this issue. Mohd Khir simply cannot afford to procrastinate any longer.

The villages are getting agitated and he must make a decision soon. Whatever is his decision, he must convey it to them soon as possible so that they can move on with their lives.