Kuang folk fight back

By Stephanie Sta Maria and B Nantha Kumar - Free Malaysia Today,

KUANG: Taman Rahmat Jaya in Kuang was once like any other residential area – friendly and peaceful. But now an angry vibes ripples through it.
One year ago, sand-mining contractors began illegal operations just a stone's throw away from the neighbourhood on private land belonging to the Seri Kundang Lakes Golf Club. Before long, the residents discovered cracks in their walls and drains. The excavation was causing the land around their houses to sink at an alarming rate.
They immediately lodged a complaint with a host of authorities, including the Gombak Land Office, the Drainage and Irrigation Department, the Selayang Municipal Council, the Road Transport Department and Kuang assemblyman Abdul Shukor Idrus. All turned a deaf ear to them.
When word recently got around that the contractor was planning to expand his operations to a patch of land opposite the country club, the residents decided that they had had enough. Last Sunday, 100 residents gathered to protest the illegal operations which are now being carried out around the clock instead of just at night.
“That is reserve land meant for neighbourhood facilities like football field and community hall,” resident Zawawi Muhammad told FMT during a visit earlier this week. “We've already had to call off work to erect a water storage tank on that land because the ground isn't solid enough. The people are very angry.”
According to Mohd Noor Ismail, the village head of Seri Kundang, the contractor claims he is working for Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB).
“But when we demanded to see his permit, he showed us an application letter instead,” he said. “We have come to physical blows before over this matter. And now he has the gall to hire Malay youths to act as liaisons between him and us.”
Our hands are tied
Residents of Kampung Orang Asli Hulu Kuang, meanwhile, blame an Umno leader for bringing in the contractors who are illegally mining for sand in the river behind their village. The leader, whom they referred to as “Encik Jamal”, resides in the village and oversees the operations.
“They are a menace!” fumed Asri. “The operations start at 3am which disrupts the people's sleep. Every fortnight 20 lorries come by to cart the sand away, which has left deep potholes and badly damaged roads. Just last week two teenagers were killed when one of the lorries hit their motorbike in its haste to deliver the sand.”
Asri said that he had lodged a complaint with the District Land Office as well as Selayang MP William Leong. The officers from the land office visited the site but the machines “mysteriously vanished”, only to resurface a week later.
“I pushed the officers to return but they told me that their hands are tied,” he said in frustration. “Even Leong is reluctant to take action.”
When contacted, Leong defended the land office explaining that limited manpower prevents it from stationing enforcement agents at the site.
He also pointed out that the state government has given KSSB full responsibility for curbing such operations and taking action against those involved. The onus, he said, lies with KSSB and not him or the land office.
“I have spoken to (Selangor state executive councillor) Elizabeth Wong who is doing her part in requesting the authorities to look into the matter,” he added. “But KSSB has to stop being inefficient and start taking control of the situation. Otherwise, we have to rethink how the entire sand mining business is being run in Selangor.”
Residents warned not to be village heroes
Elsewhere in Kampung Gombak, irate villagers are threatening to destroy the contractor's machinery to prevent him from moving it when enforcement officers come by.

According to resident Haji Hamdon, the contractor here was also reportedly hired by an Umno leader. And similar to Taman Rahmat Jaya, this contractor too claimed to be hired by KSSB but could only produce an application letter instead of an approved permit.
“He has widened the river so much so that it is literally creeping into our backyards,” he protested. “He has asked me to persuade the residents to allow him to work here but we have refused. I have even alerted KSSB to this matter but KSSB didn't seem interested in pursuing it.”
Haji Hamdon also sought help from Selayang Municipal Council member Abdul Rahim Wahab but met another dead end when he (Abdul Rahim) ordered the residents to not “overstep their boundaries”.
“He told us not to behave like 'jaguh kampung' (village heroes),” Hamdon said. “When we warned him that a mainstream newspapers had already highlighted the matter, he laughed and said that the newspaper was only good for toilet use.”
Part 4 will appear on Mlonday