The Prime Minister's Office wants the housing and local government ministry to clarify certain points raised in a memorandum submitted by Kampung Broga residents demanding that a 1,500-tonne incinerator plant project nearby be permanently scrapped.

On Jan 12, the Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro tem action committee sent Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a memorandum seeking his help to stop the project which they have long described as a "health and environmental hazard".

A similar memorandum was sent to him on Sept 21 by the a sub-committee comprising Kampung Broga villagers.

Last week, Abdullah's political secretary Dr Vincent Lim sent a letter to his counterpart at the housing and local government ministry regarding the memorandum, said Broga sub-committee chairperson Dr Zulkefly Mohamad Omar when contacted today.

He said the letter, addressed to Ong Ka Ting's political secretary Wee Jeck Seng, asked for clarification on six points highlighted in last month's memorandum.

Zulkefly said this was the first written top-level government response to any of their letters and memoranda.

"Although the letter is between two political aides, it is a promising development given the general reluctance shown by government agencies at the state and federal level to hear us out," he added.

A copy of Lim's letter dated Feb 15 was also forwarded to the sub-committee last week.

While ministry officials could not be reached for comment today, Lim confirmed having sent the letter to the ministry.

"I have highlighted some of the points raised by the residents in their memorandum and have asked the ministry to clarify them," he said when contacted.

Although no deadline has been set for the ministry to respond, he said he would follow up with them after a certain time.

Residents hopeful

Zulkefly said he hoped that the letter would facilitate a process that will answer the residents' concerns.

"We thank the PM's office for pursuing this matter. We hope the minister (Ong, photo ) will be able to furnish the relevant details as soon as possible because these are very serious issues," he said.

"The memoranda and numerous letters we have sent to Ong have yielded no response. We hope he will now respond and agree to meet us. All this while, he has refused to do so without giving any reasons."

Zulkefly said the ministry has been told to explain the alleged contravention of the Selangor Town and Country Planning guidelines which prohibits sewerage treatment plants and landfills to be sited within water catchment areas.

He said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report clearly shows that the RM1.5 billion incinerator project is located within the Semenyih water catchment area, raising concern over potential pollution of the drinking water source for millions of households.

The residents noted that 30 percent of the waste incinerated would be released as toxic residue in the form of heavy metal, dioxin and poisonous gases that may cause cancer and lead to deformed babies, sterility, miscarriages and other health risks.

"The letter also wanted the ministry to explain whether the letter of award was issued prior to the completion of the EIA study as we stated in the memorandum," said Zulkefly.

"Similarly, the ministry was asked about the (Japanese) contractor's alleged bad track record and losses amounting to billions of yen it reportedly suffered last year."

Lim also raised the point about the EIA report showing that 50 percent of the incinerator site was on a hill slope with a gradient exceeding 25 degrees which was in clear violation of government policy.