COMMENT | Can Selangor govt give real 'harapan' for greener future

COMMENT | Can development be covered up as “conservation” in Selangor? This is what may be happening at the Shah Alam Community Forest (SACF), which residents and nature lovers have fought for eight long years to save.

Hikers have reported that bulldozers began tearing through the steep hilly forest in May. This is part of a hush-hush project called Bandar Sierra Alam by PKNS, the Selangor State Development Corporation, which is controlled by the Pakatan Harapan state government.

This place was mentioned only in a “by the way” fashion in late May, when several news articles declared that PKNS had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to “conserve” 34.5 hectares of forest, to be renamed as PKNS Community Forest (PCF).

But there was no announcement of any new property project called “Bandar Sierra Alam”. Nor could it be found on Google Maps. So where was it?...