SHAH ALAM, 22 Nov: Former Umno-BN leaders claimed to own land in Tampler Forest.
This was exposed by Tourism, Consumer Affairs and the Environment Exco member, Elizabeth Wong and the names of the Umno leaders involved, owning land in the area concerned, have already been identified.
“I am surprised that a lot of reputable people are in the list of bungalow owners, including former ministers, former Gombak MP, former Gombak Setia Assemblyman, former Sungai Burong Assemblyman, former Rawang Assemblyman and others. These are some of the people who have bought land there to build luxury homes, “she said in the State Assembly sitting (DNS) today.
This issue arose when the an Umno-BN opposition claimed that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor had allowed felling of the Templer Park Forest Reserve to build interchanges and luxury bungalows.
The Star newspaper had previously reported that apparently the State Government has been ravaging the Forest Reserve and had displayed wrong pictures trying to confuse readers.
Instead, Elizabeth said that the forest reserves in Templer Park had been given by the Umno-BN government in 1987 to SAP Leisure and Resort Sdn Bhd.
She said that 454 acres of land was given to the company to be developed as Templer Golf and Country Club (PTGC).
“On August 2, 1990, a groundbreaking ceremony for PTGC was officiated by the Chief Minister of Selangor, then on December 13, 1992, an 18-hole golf course was opened and officiated (golf club) by the Sultan of Selangor on 4 November 1995.”
“The plans were approved by the State Executive Council on 17 July 1991. This story is 20 years ago, in fact Templer Park is no longer a reserve. Is Umno-BN trying to obscure the eyes of the people by saying the Selangor PR government had seized the reserve? We never did that.”
“However, Templer Forest measuring 853.30 hectares, still remains and has not been touched since 2008, in fact the State Government insists on not giving ownership to any developer for the purpose of housing developments,” she said.
The Star newspaper report recently claimed that the State Government is responsible for destroying the Templer Park Forest Reserve by constructing the 60 metre tall Rawang elevated highway and 60 luxury bungalows.
The newspaper’s claim regarding the project is opposite of the State Government’s determination to stop logging in the forest reserve and talks have been held before any development can take place in the green areas.
“Since 2008 till now, the State Government has not given the forest reserve to anyone. The reserve acreage has even increased by one percent under PR,” she added.