SHAH ALAM, Sept 23 — The Selangor Forestry Department (JPNS) has detained 152 individuals since the beginning of this year for entering the Ayer Itam Forest Reserve (HSAI) in Puchong without permission for recreational activities.
Its Deputy Director (Forest Operations) Mohd Nor Firdaus Rahim said the arrests, aimed at curbing encroachment and illegal exploration, were carried out through three operations conducted in January, February, and September.
“The offence is entering a forest reserve without permission under Section 47 of the National Forestry Act 1985. If convicted, offenders may be fined up to RM30,000 or imprisoned for up to five years, or both,” he said in a statement to Media Selangor.
Firdaus added that HSAI's beauty, which has gone viral on social media and become a talking point among netizens, has led to the forest being frequently trespassed on by visitors and hikers.
He said the 2.8km trail — one of the encroachment routes into HSAI — is an entry point bordering private land and lacks fencing.
“From this trail, the public can easily enter the forest, leading to ponds, waterfalls, rivers, and other forested areas. With the large number of visitors, many additional paths have been created (‘rat trails’), which in turn have resulted in cases of people getting lost in HSAI,” Firdaus said.
He advised the public and hikers to carry out recreational activities only in permitted areas and to obtain a permit to enter forest reserves through the Selangor Forestry E-Permit System, or SEFOREST.
“If the public is still interested in hiking or enjoying river-based activities, Selangor has designated hiking and recreational areas for such purposes — but not in HSAI,” Firdaus said.
HSAI was gazetted as a permanent forest reserve in 1906, and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) was granted permission by the state government under a 99-year lease agreement from 1996 until 2095.
Yesterday, 75 individuals were detained in Ops Jejak 2 after being found entering the restricted HSAI area without a valid permit.
Serdang district police chief ACP Muhamad Farid Ahmad reportedly said they were arrested at 11am by JPNS enforcement officers with the cooperation of the Central Selangor District Forestry Office, UPM, and the Puchong Jaya police station.
