SHAH Alam Community Forest (SACF) Society organised a human chain campaign for residents, hikers and nature lovers on Saturday (May 11) to protest the deforestation projects approved by the Selangor government.
SACF founder secretary Alicia Teoh said they expected about over 100 people to show their support by forming the human chain in solidarity.
"We just want the human chain to show the support by the community for the forest, and show the Selangor government that we are affected by the destroyed forest.
"Before this, this was pristine forest; there wasn’t even a trail. It was just a dense forest.
"Now, there is a huge 1km gash across the forest from Bandar Nusa Rhu.
"We are happy with the turnout today by the stakeholders of the forest," she told StarMetro.
Following the intensifying destruction of SACF that began in April this year, there has been a growing groundswell of objection towards the forest destructions as well as increased calls for the preservation of SACF from the public.
The human chain was held at one of the recently destroyed areas of the forest. Those who joined began their hike at Trailhead A in Jalan Setia Duta 2, Setia Alam.
SACF said despite numerous attempts over a period of eight years by residents, civil society and nature lovers to engage with the Selangor government to preserve SACF, their appeals have fallen on deaf ears.
The southern and northern parts of the community forest are now cleared for a road and commercial development.
The protest was held at the site of the road forest destruction.
SACF said in April this year, the construction of a connecting road from Bandar Nusarhu to Setia Alam started, carving a 1km gash of destruction across the southern section of the SACF.
In May 2022, the Selangor government issued a degazettement notification of the Bukit Cherakah forest corridor which includes SACF.
In this document, the effective date of the degazettement was backdated 22 years to November 2000.
In August 2022, SACF Society and Peka Malaysia filed a judicial review of this degazettement document as they believe that the state government has acted unlawfully in excising the land retrospectively without prior notice, without any replacement forest area and most crucially, without a public inquiry.
The legal case in still ongoing with the next hearing scheduled in July 2024.
SACF consists of about 430 acres of biodiverse lowland dipterocarp rainforest which forms a critical ecological corridor between the Subang dam water catchment forest and Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam.
An online petition to preserve this forest has garnered over 107,000 signatures. SACF is urging the Selangor government, particularly Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari to honour the wishes of the rakyat and stop all development projects at SACF.
Wong Su Ling, a sales manager, 51, has been hiking at SACF since 2012 with her family and was saddened at the state it is in today.
"It’s a place where people come to enjoy the jungle and plants, and see animals.
"There is no reason for this road to be here which cuts through the jungle, and is destroying our recreation area and animal habitat.
"There used to be a nice waterfall here, which is no more, it’s sad to see this," she said.
