'Nearly 10,000 signatures collected against Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve development'

Nearly 10,000 signatures have been collected by activists and local residents opposing a proposed development near the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Kinrara.

Subang MP Wong Chen said residents have been objecting to the project since 2012, with concerns persisting over slope safety, traffic congestion, environmental impacts, and the loss of green spaces used by the local community and hikers.

According to him, activists sought assistance from his office in December last year after failing to obtain active support from Kinrara assemblyperson and Selangor executive councillor Ng Sze Han.

“Today marks our fifth press conference on this matter, and the activists have successfully gathered more than 9,000 signatures opposing the development of the land,” he said at a press conference at the Subang MP’s service centre in Puchong today.

Wong also alleged that documents from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) showed the land was valued at RM55 per square foot, significantly higher than the RM13.80 per square foot sale price previously announced by the Selangor government.

He said the valuation was obtained through an official memorandum of transfer that his office received about 10 days after submitting a request.

Why sold so cheaply?

According to Wong, based on IRB’s valuation of RM55 per square foot, the land would be worth about RM404 million, compared with the final sale price of RM101 million.

“If the valuer placed the value at RM13.02 while IRB assessed it at RM55, the government must explain why the land was sold so cheaply,” he said.

Wong said the 169-acre (68.4ha) parcel was sold to Perano, a company linked to the Jakel group, at what he described as an excessively low price.

He also questioned the contradiction between the state government’s position that the area would not be developed and documents in the Subang Jaya Local Plan 2035, which classify the site as “planned housing”.

He said a court ruling in 2017 had found the land unsuitable for development due to steep slopes, yet the land transactions proceeded in 2019 and 2020.

“If the government truly did not want development after the 2017 court ruling, why were the transactions not cancelled?” he asked.

Wong, however, stressed that he was not alleging corruption but was seeking a full investigation to explain inconsistencies in the transaction.

“I only want the truth and a full explanation regarding this transaction,” he said.

Previously, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the land had been valued at RM13.02 per square foot, or RM95.3 million, before being sold through an open tender process for RM101 million, which was 5.9 percent higher than the assessed value.

Amirudin was also reported as saying that the current state administration had never approved any development in the area because 75 percent of the site falls within Class 3 and Class 4 slope categories.

‘Land still transferred’

Wong said the state government’s position contradicted the fact that ownership of the land was still transferred after the Federal Court’s decision.

He also claimed that residents were not informed of the sale and transfer of the land until the developer began conducting a social impact assessment last year.

In addition, Wong said the state government’s response to a question raised by Rawang assemblyperson Chua Wei Kiat during the Selangor legislative assembly sitting on May 13 was unsatisfactory because it focused more on the land’s history between 1906 and 1929 rather than the transaction in 2012.

READ MORE: MP SPEAKS | Controversy over land near Ayer Hitam forest reserve

“We asked about the sale and purchase transaction in 2012, but the answer given was a story from 100 years ago.

“That is making a mockery of the state assembly,” he said.

Wong also urged the state government to disclose the sale and purchase agreement, valuation reports, and full transaction documents involving the private developer.

He said the government should also consider repurchasing the land if it maintains that the area should not be developed.

“Do not simply say that no development will take place without presenting a genuine solution,” he said.

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