Residents seeking a dialogue o­n Sunday with Housing and Local Government Minister o­ng Ka Ting over the proposed RM1.5 billion thermal mega-incinerator project in Broga have finally received a response.

A letter dated March 3 and signed by some 100 residents had been hand-delivered to his office, while copies have also been faxed to his office daily since March 10.

No Incinerator Semenyih/Broga pro tem action committee co-ordinator Alice Lee said she had received a call from the minister's office this morning in relation to the request.

Lee said the minister's aide had phoned to say that o­ng was not free o­n Sunday and suggested instead that residents meet the minister at his office, to accommodate his busy schedule.

"I told him to send a written confirmation either way, whether o­n a new date or a rejection of our request, so that I can explain the matter properly to the villagers," Lee told malaysiakini .

Contacted later, the aide - o­ng's political secretary Wee Jeck Seng - said he would keep the residents updated o­n the matter.

"The minister has been away since March 5. He just returned from a working visit to South Africa yesterday. o­n Sunday, he has a function scheduled in Penang," he said.

Ong will also be busy with matters in the Dewan Rakyat which convened o­n Monday.

"Don't worry, I will inform them (Broga residents) of an alternative date after discussing it with the minister," Wee said.

'Explain advantages'

Meanwhile, the New Straits Times in its coverage of the Dewan Rakyat today quoted Shah Alam MP Mohd Zin Mohamed as saying that objections against incinerators were due to the failure of the relevant ministries to expound the benefits of the technology involved.

He pinned the blame for the protests by Puchong and Broga residents o­n the ministries of Housing and Local Government, and Science, Technology and Environment.

Mohd Zin, who is also Backbenchers Club chairperson, said it was imperative to make the public understand the "advantages of incinerators, especially the superior technology used".

"They should be exposed to this technology, with scientific data and proof as backing before we can expect them to accept it," he said, according to the report.

The controversial project, under a joint committee of federal and state governments, was relocated to Broga in November 2002 following severe criticism and protests from residents in and around Kampung Bohol, Puchong, the original site.

Due to the confusion caused by contradicting statements by public officials, the Broga residents sought clarification o­n the status of the project - they submitted a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia asking for a dialogue

with government officials.

In another dialogue

with Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, the committee appealed for the project to be reviewed or scrapped because they believed it was approved without public consultation or proper procedures.

The state is waiting for the detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to be approved by the Department of Environment.

Protest continues

However, residents are unhappy with the response so far and are continuing with a campaign which has gathered more than 6,000 signatures to date.

An estimated 80,000 people from 25 housing estates live within Semenyih, Broga, Beranang, Kajang and surrounding areas, comprising more than 20,000 school-going children, senior citizens and pensioners, business operators, factory workforce and professionals.

Opposition parties PAS, DAP and Keadilan have jumped o­n the protest bandwagon in support of the residents, calling the proposed project a move which will turn the area into "tong sampah Selangor" (Selangor's garbage dump).

The proposed project is also expected to adversely affect potential development in the area, about 40km south of Kuala Lumpur and o­nly minutes away from the federal government administrative centre in Putrajaya.

Nottingham University had plans to build its fourth campus - and the first outside Britain - in Broga. It has since shelved the idea because of the proposed location of the incinerator.

The Selangor government is pushing ahead to meet the 2007 deadline for operations, citing the plant as necessary to manage the increasing volume of garbage collected in the Klang Valley.

The plant is reportedly to be funded by a RM2 billion Japanese soft loan.