Despite the Japanese embassy here denying that its government was involved in the mega-incinerator project in Broga, Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister M Kayveas today insisted otherwise.

He said the Japanese government was involved in the RM1.5 billion project and the fund has being extended in the form of a soft loan.

When told that the Japanese Embassy had denied any such government involvement via a written reply to malaysiakini last week, the deputy minister insisted that the deal was o­n.

Kayveas said the agreement to help Malaysia finance the incinerator project was made o­nce the environmental impact assessment (EIA) study was done for the earlier proposed site in Puchong.

"The Japanese government agreed to a soft loan and the money is all here," he told reporters after a ministry briefing o­n the 1,500-tonne plant attended by some 200 residents in Semenyih.

"We have not received any official letter denying this matter from the Japanese Embassy. As far as we know, the Japanese government is funding the project.

"If any embassy had sent a letter denying it, then we will have to verify that," he added.

Also present were Hulu Langat MP Badrul Hisham Abdul Aziz, Beranang state assemblyperson Ahmad Kuris Mohd Nor, Kajang Municipal Council president Mohd Yusop Mat Judin and Selangor PPP chairperson Pritpal Singh.

Publicity stunt

Earlier, tempers flared at the ministry briefing when the residents grew upset after they were prevented from asking questions.

They began to jeer while several of them staged a walk-out. This irked the Hulu Langat MP ( left ) who charged at the crowd and began to shout at them.

Commenting o­n this, the deputy minister and the other VIPs insisted that the Broga/Semenyih No Incinerator pro tem action committee were outsiders out to create trouble and cause problems among the locals.

A visibly upset Kayveas said future briefings o­n the incinerator project must be limited to "local residents o­nly" so that such incidents will not recur.

"These people came with prepared questions. My advise to opponents of this project is write directly to me and I will personally reply to each of them.

"There is no need to make this a publicity stunt and stir a commotion so that the media will blow up the issue," he added.

The deputy minister said the 'trouble-makers' were determined to create problems no matter where the incinerator project was sited.

"All we have to do is check their homes and see how they handle their own rubbish, and now they want to oppose whatever good the government is doing for the people.

"I assure you that if people drop dead or there is evidence to the contrary, I will be the first to oppose the project," he declared, adding that the opponents were probably being paid to cause trouble.

He also repeatedly questioned the residents' refusal to give their IC numbers when he had requested them to do so earlier.

Asked how he could be sure that the 'trouble-makers' were not Broga or Semenyih residents, Kayveas replied that it was evident from their lack of attention during his speech and the presentation.

On the police report lodged by the committee last week over the awarding of the contract to a Japanese company to build the incinerator even before the EIA study was completed, he said: "Police report has become a fashion, a publicity stunt, a short-cut for cheap publicity.

"I think the government should make a new law to charge anyone lodging baseless police reports," he added.

Unbecoming behaviour

When met at the Semenyih police station later, Broga/Semenyih No Incinerator pro tem action committee member N Segaran ( left ) said the people were disappointed with the behaviour of the officials.

"We believe they were trying to shut us out. When we took the microphone to ask questions, the microphone suddenly went off. We were told that the Hulu Langat MP had ordered it to be switched off.

"But we are the people living closest to the proposed plant and our voices are not heard!" he added.

Another committee member, Wong Yuen Mei, refuted accusations that residents were emotional, saying that they were merely seeking answers to valid concerns over public health and safety.

"The commotion occurred not because we were emotional but because the officials refused to allow us question time.

"There was also no need to ask for our IC numbers because to verify whether we were residents, you o­nly need our address which we were willing to give," she added.

KC Ooi, also a committee member, said the request for the residents' IC numbers was a harassment tactic designed to blacklist them in the future.

"This is a strategy to prevent us from questioning the project, especially when the government is o­nly providing selective general information without any specific details o­n the Broga incinerator itself.

"For everyone's information, we are neither a non-governmental organisation nor aligned to any political party. We are all residents living in this area. Why is that so difficult to accept?"

Another resident said experts o­n incinerators should be briefing the people and not politicians.

The residents were also angry by the repeated accusations that they were outsiders who were hell-bent o­n stirring trouble by inciting the locals to oppose the project ever since it was relocated from Puchong last November due to intense pressure.

"Kayveas calling us outsiders, inciters and trouble-makers is very demeaning to us, but we find Badrul Hisham's behaviour towards us - his constituents - totally unbecoming of an MP.

"How are we to depend o­n someone like that to represent us in Parliament?" asked o­ne irate resident.

Earlier, residents lodged two police reports against Badrul Hisham Abdul Aziz over his outburst at the meeting.

Editor's note: The scanned copy of the embassy's letter has been removed o­n April 7 at its request o­n the grounds that it was not meant to be posted o­n this website. The inadvertent error is regretted.