Batu Arang residents strongly oppose proposed incinerator, citing health and environmental concerns, and rallying against RM 4.5 billion project with seven NGOs.
The Batu Arang community does not want a proposed incinerator plant at their backyard, fearing health risks and pollution problems. The residents of this former coal-mining town on January 21 held a protest, the second one, at the local town hall, which was also attended by seven NGOs.
Batu Arang, a town in Gombak District, Selangor, Malaysia, is located about 50 km from the capital Kuala Lumpur. The proposed Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) green energy plant, which includes the incinerator to be located at Lot 3847, is estimated to cost RM 4.5 billion (US$945 million). The incinerator, which has the capacity to burn and convert 2, 400 tons of waste daily, is slated to service six other local councils within Selangor.
Ming, a resident of Kampung Batu Arang, said at the protest: “Clean air is a precious gift bestowed upon us by god, and the best part is that we don’t even have to pay taxes for it! It is a basic human right. Upon discovering their plans to build an incinerator here in Batu Arang, I couldn’t sleep for two weeks due to concerns about the future of my children and grandchildren. The construction of the incinerator has the potential to erase a century’s worth of history in our town and result in the loss of livelihoods, especially for the farmers.”
