This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 12, 2022 - September 18, 2022

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shari got a lot of flak when he said the state had no choice but to degazette parts of the Bukit Cherakah Forest Reserve, as approved by the state executive council in 2000.

He said if the Selangor government does not go through with the degazettement, it would have to face lawsuits from companies with interests in the land. As a saving grace, state-owned companies will be ordered to stop any development in the area.

However, even if the degazettement was done under the previous Barisan Nasional administration back in 2008 – and not under the incumbent Pakatan Harapan (PH) or the previous Pakatan Rakyat (PR) administration – and contracts may well need to be honoured, shifting blame without providing a better solution would draw ire rather than win favour from the people it needs to court in the coming election. If it cannot promise no future degazettement, a pledge that the environment assessments would be thoroughly made for any future decisions, for instance, would have won some brownie points. 

In any case, the backdated degazettement of Bukit Cherakah Forest Reserve is now a matter before the Shah Alam High Court under a judicial review.

Protecting the environment is no longer just about ensuring the well-being of future generations as the impact from indiscriminate development is already being felt today. The Klang Valley floods early this year serve as the latest reminder that our ecology is becoming increasingly fragile.

As the leader of the state, it is incumbent on Amiruddin and his exco to do everything necessary to ensure that the sustainability of its natural resources is preserved for the socioeconomic well-being of the people.

The people of Selangor chose change back in 2008, and for the past three terms have shown their support for the PR and PH coalitions. They do so in the hope that it will result in better governance of the state.

The protection of nature is especially crucial as uncontrolled development has caused destruction of the ecology and led to natural disasters that have affected livelihoods and even claimed lives, as has been seen in other states.

There are lessons to be learnt here for both the state and federal governments in these situations.

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