It was reported that the Minister for Urban Well Being, Housing and Local Government, Datuk Rahman Dahlan, had met with the anti-incinerator NGO, KL Tak Nak Insinerator (KTI) on the 30th of January, 2015. Before this meeting, KTI had provided the Minister a list of 24 questions for his Ministry to answer . While is it commendable that the Minister took time to meet and listen to KTI, the answers given in his written replies on the 5th of February are not convincing. In particular, his failure to disclose the cost of building, operating and maintaining the proposed incinerator makes a mockery of the international and open tender process initially promised by the Minister.
The latest news have indicated that the bidding for the proposed incinerator in Taman Beringin, Kepong, has been narrowed down to two players. The Minister refuses to divulge the companies that are involved in the tender process. More worryingly, the Minister has also refused to divulge the cost of this entire project except to say that the Ministry will not pay a single sen towards the construction cost and would only pay for the tipping fee for the disposal of solid waste at the incinerator.[1] This tipping fee, according to the Minister’s reply to KTI, was being reviewed in the tender process.
If the Minister supports open disclosure, why not let the public know the cost of building the incinerator, the tipping fee and the funding model for the entire incinerator project?
Recently, the Minister said in his twitter and facebook accounts that local elections will lead to an increase in taxes including assessment rates. Ironically, it is likely that residents in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (WPKL) will see their taxes raised to fund the proposed incinerator even though there are no local elections in WPKL. I call upon the Minister to disclose the tender documents including the cost of construction and the tipping fee for the proposed incinerator and to invite public comments on whether such an incinerator is needed in KL or not.