SHAH ALAM, Sept 23 — Concerns raised by residents about the proposed Batu Arang waste-to-energy (WTE) plant should be considered as the site is not only near a residential area, but also affects a heritage village of more than 100 years old, said Rawang assemblyman Chua Wei Kiat.
Batu Arang is an official heritage town founded in the early 1910s and features century-old brick factories, 1920s shophouses, and a historic post office. Chua said it is understandable that residents fear an industrial plant will permanently destroy the town’s old-world charm and ecotourism, hiking and cycling appeal.
“Although the government has explained the project, it is understandable that residents are still worried, especially as they have been living in this more than 100-year-old heritage village.
“It has created a lot of concern and worry, especially about environmental issues in the environment they have enjoyed for so long,” he told Media Selangor when contacted yesterday.
The proposed site for the Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) Green Energy Plant is on the Rawang-Batu Arang border, meaning the physical project is technically in Rawang but the closest heavily populated residential areas overlap into Kuang.
It is being developed by KDEB Waste Management in collaboration with YTL Power International.
Local communities like Bandar Tasik Puteri, Kota Puteri, and Kampung Batu Arang lie within 1km to 5km of the site, and the planned facility would sit as close as 500m to 600m from existing homes and near 11 local schools.
On Monday, a group of residents and non-governmental organisation Jaringan Rawang Tolak Insinerator (JRTI) held a press conference seeking RM100,000 in public donations to fund legal action against the project, following the issue of its latest environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.
They expressed concerns about air, water and odour pollution, road damage, and the impact of heavy vehicle traffic on the area’s tourism and heritage appeal — all worries that have persisted despite the approved EIA, with residents saying they intend to continue opposing the project.
Relocate facility
Chua said that despite raising the issue several times to the Selangor State Legislative Assembly, the state government’s formal response was that it understands residents’ concerns and would consider further action.
“The government or the developer should consider residents’ views, as their main concern is that the project is too close to residential areas.
“WTE is still something new in Malaysia, and currently most WTE facilities are located around landfills, but this one in Batu Arang is located just opposite a residential area, so of course the residents are very concerned, because it is about how the government manages rubbish,” he said.
According to the Environment Department (DOE), the distance between a WTE plant and the nearest residential zone should be 300m — a baseline limit that may be adjusted through EIA reports.
Chua suggested the state government relocate the project farther away from residential areas, like the plant in Jeram, Kuala Selangor.
The Jeram WTE 1 Plant, completed in May this year, is 5km away from the nearest residential areas. It has not faced critical opposition from the local residents, but has drawn pushback from outside groups and environmental activists.
“I believe the residents’ opposition was triggered by the fact that the project is located near a residential area.
“If you look at other WTE facilities, such as those in Jeram, there was no opposition because they are located far away from residential areas. There are designated places for dumping rubbish and garbage.
“If the landfill was previously located in that area, there would be no issue with building a WTE facility nearby, so yes, (developers) should consider relocating it to another location,” Chua said.
State executive councillor for local government and tourism Dato’ Ng Suee Lim had not responded to Media Selangor’s request for comment at the time of writing.
On September 15, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the project could be relocated elsewhere in Rawang as there is land that was approved in 2019 to house waste from Kuala Lumpur.
He was replying to a query from a Batu Arang resident, adding that the project is still subject to various technical and environmental considerations, including EIA and social impact assessments, and said the state must also look into safety, zoning, and appropriate buffer zones before deciding on the project.
Amirudin also highlighted that WTE plants would reduce the state’s dependence on traditional landfills and bring environmental, health and economic benefits.
