The Selangor state government claims to be in the dark over the successful bid by Japan's Ebara Corp to build the controversial 1,500-tonne mega thermal incinerator in Broga, near Semenyih.

Mokhtar Dahlan, the state exco member for local government, housing and squatters, and environment, said he himself was unaware of the tender or the award of the contract.

"This is news to me. I have not heard anything about it so far. In fact, I do not have any information at all o­n this matter," he said when contacted for more details yesterday.

"Tender and contract matters are under the federal government because it owns the project, not the state."

In a statement released to the press in Japan early last month, Ebara announced Malaysia's Housing and Local Government Ministry's order to buy its latest incineration technology - fluidised-bed gasification and ash-melting.

Repeated attempts to reach top ministry officials and Ebara's subsidiaries in Malaysia for further details proved futile.

One of Ebara's engineering consultants o­nly said that a project team from the company's headquarters in Tokyo was scheduled to come here next month.

About 80,000 people from 25 housing estates in Semenyih, Broga, Beranang, Kajang and surrounding areas are opposed to the RM1.5 billion project, led by the Broga/Semenyih No Incinerator pro tem action committee.

State campaign

According to the committee, the population comprises more than 20,000 school-going children, senior citizens, pensioners, factory workers, businessmen and professionals.

The committee also has plans for a national campaign to promote alternatives to incineration technology, effectively silencing critics who accused them of having the not-in-my-backyard syndrome.

Mokhtar said the state has set up a local committee headed by the district officer to explain the project and its implications to the locals.

"There have been weekly public briefings organised through the local elected representative, exco member, heads of the village safety and security committee, the surau committee and the penghulu (village chiefs)."

He said the briefings were small so that people will have a better opportunity to ask questions and clarify their doubts.

On Wednesday, a Broga/Semenyih pro tem committee member accused the state government of sabotaging the anti-incinerator awareness campaign by holding separate briefing sessions without informing them.

Kept waiting

She noted that the government was misleading local residents by distributing inaccurate information in these briefings attributed to the lead ministry.

Competing claims have hounded the arguments between incinerator pushers and international activists and scientists, who insist that all incinerator emissions are hazardous to public health and environmental safety.

Meanwhile, Broga residents are still waiting for Housing and Local Government Minister O­ng Ka Ting (photo) to visit them to discuss the issue.

The pro tem committee coordinator Alice Lee said a second letter was faxed yesterday requesting a meeting with o­ng o­n April 20.

The first request was faxed to his office every day for a week starting March 10. The response was that o­ng had a busy schedule ahead, including attending to matters in the Dewan Rakyat.

Their attempts to get Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo (photo right) to speak to them failed when he stonewalled them in a meeting o­n Feb 5. The chief executive of the state said that more incinerators were planned, including in Rawang and Sabak Bernam, as part of the country's integrated solid waste management policy.

The residents have also sought the intervention of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia to arrange for a dialogue with government officials. They have also lodged a complaint against violations of their human rights.