Landowners told to stop open burning or lose land titles
06/06/2008 The Star By Christina Tan

LANDOWNERS at Kampung Johan Setia will face court action or have their land titles revoked by the Selangor state government if they fail to take care of the land and avoid open burning.

State tourism, consumer affairs and environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said the government had identified 1,512 landowners holding Temporary Occupancy Licences (TOL) on 1,183ha of agricultural land nearby.

Looking on: Wong (front) looking out over the peat fields at the Kampung Johan Setia area.

“The land was awarded in good faith, unfortunately, they did not take good care of it, left it abandoned and allowed it to be taken over by trespassers who caused the open burning.

“We want all the land owners to be responsible and the state government will not hesitate to take back the titles if they fail to take care of the land,” she said after visiting some of the open burning sites.

Department of Environment director Che Asmah Ibrahim, Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Maria Mahmud and representatives from various agencies including Rela, the Fire and Rescue Services Department, the Land Office and the Drainage and Irrigation Department were also present.

Wong said the government had ordered the Land Office to conduct a detailed survey to identify the boundaries of each plot of land.

“The government has tried to bring some of the land owners to court for causing open burning but the cases were struck out because the authorities failed to prove the exact boundaries of the land where the fires occurred,” she said.

Wong added that the detailed survey by the Land Office would assist in legal issues.

Wong said many landowners left their land idle, giving an opportunity for trespassers to clear the land and hire illegal immigrants to carry out farming.

“We realise that going after the illegal immigrants will not serve as a long-term solution and we have to get to the root of the problem,” she said.

The trespassers started fires to clear the land and the smouldering peat soil usually released thick smoke and haze that, since the late 1990s, had engulfed surrounding areas including Shah Alam, Klang and Kuala Langat where more than 200,000 people were affected.

Wong also said the state government had appointed an experienced consultant, Global Environment Centre, to work with the related government agencies to find effective ways to prevent open burning.

She added that the immediate steps taken so far were damming part of a nearby river to raise water level at the peat area, building more dams at critical dry areas and diverting water from adjacent rivers to the peat areas.