A company linked to Perdana Parkcity Sdn Bhd, the property arm of the Samling Group, is believed to have won the rights to develop 536.7 hectares (ha) of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) into a mixed-commercial development.
The award is following the green light from the Selangor government for its degazettement.
The company reportedly is Gabungan Indah Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vibrantscape Sdn Bhd, which in turn is 100 per cent-owned owned by Perdana Parkcity.
State executive councillor Hee Loy Sian revealed the company's identity as the developer of the 536.7ha land at the Selangor legislative assembly in Shah Alam, Selangor, yesterday.
According to company filings, Gabungan Indah was incorporated on November 2, 2020, and is involved in buying, selling, leasing and operating self-owned or leased residential buildings.
The company's sole owner is the Perdana Parkcity-owned Vibrantscape.
Perdana Parkcity is the developer of Desa Parkcity in Bukit Menjalara, Kuala Lumpur. The developer acquired the 192ha Desa ParkCity site in 1999 and transformed it from a barren quarry mine to become the cradle of one of Malaysia's top-selling communities.
Hee, who is in charge of Selangor tourism, environment, green technology and Orang Asli affairs, said that the total area of 536.7ha approved for degazettement accounts for only 54 per cent of the initial proposed 931.17ha.
According to him, the state government approved only 536.7ha after considering the objections raised, the importance of biodiversity and Orang Asli.
Hee reportedly said that the decision for the degazettement was made under Section 12 of the National Forestry Act (Adoption) Enactment 1985 in the state executive council meeting last May 5 and validated in another session on May 19.
He also claimed the degazettement was done to meet future housing needs.
KLNFR, made up of about 8,000-year-old forests, was gazetted as a permanent forest reserve (HSK) covering 7,246.96ha in 1927. After that, however, the forest dwindled in size due to the pressures of development.
The KLNFR is reportedly home to several endangered species, including flora such as the meranti bunga and meranti bakau, and fauna like the Malayan sun bear, panther and clouded leopard. There are also endemic species such as the Selangor pygmy flying squirrel and the Langat red fighting fish.
One of the main groups affected by the proposed degazettement is around 2,000 Orang Asli of the Temuan tribe, who reside in several villages on the fringes of the forest reserve.
According to a Bernama report in April, the Temuan have inhabited the forest since 1886.
The latest villages result from the Temuan being uprooted in 1993, when they gave up their previous village, Kampung Busut Lama, to make way for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.
Hee also reportedly said that the state government had identified several other land parcels that have been approved as replacements for the degazetted area in KLNFR.
He said that last May, the Selangor state government approved 581.48ha of land in the districts of Sabak Bernam, Hulu Selangor and Hulu Langat as replacement areas for the HSK.
The area involves the Sungai Panjang sub-district (Sabak Bernam), Ampang Pechah in the Buloh Telor sub-district (Hulu Selangor), and, Bukit Broga in the Semenyih sub-district (Hulu Langat).