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DAP welcomes Cabinet’s decision to call off the Kg. Bohol incinerator project Media Statement by Teresa Kok (Petaling Jaya, Thursday): DAP welcomes the decision of the Cabinet yesterday to call off the Kg. Bohol incinerator project. It has been reported that the Cabinet had decided to cancel the construction of the incinerator in Kg. Bohol, Puchong and would look for a suitable site in Selangor.
The announcement would surely come as a great relief to the large number of residents staying in the vicinity of Kg. Bohol who had in the last several months protested against the incinerator project.
The decision of the Cabinet to relocate the incinerator is clear proof that the government must take cognizance of the views and opposition of the rakyat and cannot arbitrarily implement any decision or policy without due regard to their welfare.
It also represents the triumph of the rakyat especially as many as 135,000 residents had signed a petition to protest the incinerator in a campaign initiated by a group of concerned residents.
I have highlighted this issue a few times in the recent Parliament sittings and the DAP had also organized a public forum on the subject.
While the cancellation of the incinerator project is to be lauded, the manner in which the government had kept mum about the issue, ordered a media blackout and attempted to play down the potential health hazard of the incinerator is disconcerting. Instead of leaving the residents in the dark, the government should have done more to assuage their very real fears and concerns.
Now that the incinerator has to be relocated elsewhere, I would like to urge the government to be more careful in choosing an alternative site which is away from residential areas, so that the people will not be subjected to any health threats.
I also urge the government to intensify the recycling campaign and install more recycle bins in residential areas as well as to encourage the public to reduce the production of waste so as to help the government overcome the problem of excessive waste in the country.
* Teresa Kok Suh Sim, DAP MP for Seputeh, |