End of April I have published a post about the Destruction of Bukit Kiara in which my friend Pola and I explored a part of Bukit Kiara, north of the Penchala tunnel. We saw a bulldozer at work and understood from the contractor that a plot of 3 acres would be cleared to build 3 VIP bungalows. Yesterday we went again to see if any “progress” had been made. This is what we saw.
The bulldozer had gone, the work was done. A large stretch of forest had been cleared, it may well be three acres. Here is a GE screenshot of our hike, with a rough indication (in red) of the cleared plot of forest. To the right are the Kiaramas condo’s
I have indicated the location from which I have taken the video below
After our first recce, Pola received by email a picture, taken from one of the Kiaramas condo’s, where a wide new “road” was visible.
In the GE screenshot I have marked this “road” with a red line. We managed to climb up, not easy, really very steep, no way even a 4WD can go up here. Why was this clearing done? To make a ski slope later for the bungalow inhabitants ..haha?
Here are more pictures taken during the hike
It was actually a depressing hike. How is it possible that a nice forest can be destroyed for the pleasure of a few rich people..:-(. I felt a bit better after noticing this beautiful inflorescence in the midst of all the destruction.
On our way back, we followed a few of the existing trails and came across two squatter settlements. Complete villages, with running water, electricity, toilets. Nice friendly people, Indonesians according to Pola. Here are a few pictures
Hi Jan,
See the URL below:
http://www.traks.org.my/post/48021846594/right-keep-destroying-bukit-kiara-folks
Unfortunately, a few points are not in our favor:
a. Land clearing is well outside the Bukit Kiara 466.86 boundary.
b. We believe said land lots were sold off during the 1997 financial crisis.
The steep road was a mistake, after plowing through everything someone finally realized they will require an easier road gradient.
Hi Julian,
You write “We believe”. Why is it not possible to find out easily when these lots were sold and to whom? And under which conditions? Is there permission to clear access roads? Etc, etc