‘Janji ditepati’ ('Promises fulfilled'), but
probably not towards the environment.
And that falls on both sides of the party lines, as well as among us
regular members of the public.
The Selangor State Park, promised to be protected as 108,000 ha state park, yet till today, gazettement is not complete. Further more, despite the area now being classified as a Rank 1 forest in the National Physical Plan, the park is under serious threat from development of expressways and housing.
Unfortunately
there seems to be a disregard for the National Physical Plan in current
development activities. Approved in 2006, the National Physical Plan is the ‘statement
of strategic policies on the physical development and conservation throughout
the peninsular of Malaysia.’ ‘The plan needs to be a guideline for
the physical planning and should be implemented at federal and states level
throughout Peninsular Malaysia’ as quoted from the Town and Country Planning
Department’s website.
Ulu
Muda, also listed as a Rank 1 forest in the National Physical Plan, which is
the water tower for our rice bowl, Kedah, Perlis and the densely populated,
Penang, still continues to be threatened with deforestation and unsustainable
logging.
One of our only natural
lakes in the country, Tasik Chini, listed as a UNESCO Biosphere Reverse in
2009, has been dying over the past 20 years, due to the man-made dam, pollution
and land clearing around the lake.
Even a small, 32 acre green
lung, in Balakong, Cheras Jaya, gazetted under the land office as a green lung
for ‘recreation and flood mitigation’ still lies uncared for, and is being encroached
upon by the factories and highways that surround this once mini-wet land and
bird heaven.
Green buildings are hot news
items. It is exciting to see homes
and buildings incorporating green technology and innovation. But green buildings are still
not the norm, as they should be by now. More so, green initiatives such as rainwater
harvesting and solar energy often seem to be limited to high-end properties.
When it comes to energy, the
government has promised to incorporate renewable energy. But the target
of renewable energy generating 5.5% of our energy by 2015 is far too small to
make a real impact. By 2050, we aim to have 25% renewable energy, which will
be lagging behind other developed countries. What more, the government plans to build a nuclear power plant somewhere in Peninsula Malaysia, but at what cost?
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