The residents and the group that formed the Friends of Bukit Kiara pro-tem committee discussed their next course of action to get the authorities to gazette the area.

The residents later handed over their memorandum to Segambut MP Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong, who was present at the discussion session.

Another copy will be sent to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"Friends of Bukit Kiara" Pro-tem Committee chairman, Liew Khooi Cheng, said it is important to gazette the area as a green lung to protect it from being developed in the future.

"Now there is already a proposed development on part of the area where 28.8 hectare of land has been alienated," he said.

He added the plot of land is situated on a higher ground, and if this is approved then the residents may face other problems such as landslide and pollution.

"The greenery is the only one left in Klang Valley and it is important that it is gazetted. It is very popular among the residents for their recreational activities," he said.

Liew urged the Government to reconsider the decision to develop the plot and immediately gazette the greenery for Taman Tun Dr Ismail and nearby residents.

Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents Association chairman, Abdul Latif Mohd Som, said they will give the Government three months to gazette the land as green lung.

"We do not want what happened to the Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam to happen to Bukit Kiara too," he said.

Tan advised the residents to cover all loopholes and send the memorandum to all Cabinet Ministers, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, Federal Territory Land and Mines Department, the Datuk Bandar Datuk Ruslin Hasan and DBKL planning department.

"These are the technicalities that we have to put up with. With all the memorandum sent to every department involved, they could not say that they did not know about the public protest against the development in Bukit Kiara," he said.

He said that even the 28.8-hectare has been alienated for development in 1994 for Asian Broadcasting Centre, but now as the ABC centre had been built behind Angkasapuri, there is no need for another centre in Bukit Kiara.

He said other type of development on the plot would be illegal as it was earmarked for a broadcasting centre.

"As the existing ABC is already under utilised, so it is timely for the Government to revoke the land and turn it as part of the Bukit Kiara green lung," he said.

However, he said there were rumours that despite its specific status, the plot would be commercially developed and legal papers on the project is being prepared.

A non-governmental organisation, Global Environment Centre programme officer Dr K.Kalithasan said the Bukit Kiara area has abundant flora and fauna which is essential for bio-diversity study and it would be a shame if these have to be sacrificed in the name of development.

"Furthermore, Sungai Penchala in Bukit Kiara has been selected as a pilot project for river monitoring under the Selangor Local Agenda 21, and yet they are taking it away for development. What an irony," he said.

Sungai Penchala Residents Association chairman, Datuk Noor Azam Mohd Noor, who was also invited in the discussion, said that Bukit Kiara is part of the last lush greenery available in Kuala Lumpur and it is everybody's responsibility to ensure that the green are there to stay.

"The green area stretch from Bukit Kiara to Segambut and if we fail to protect the greenery, then they would vanish forever," he said.

He urged the residents to unite and stand firm and fight until the Bukit Kiara area is properly a gazetted as green lung.