PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) will be regazetted as a forest reserve by May this year, says Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

       The Selangor Mentri Besar said that the regazettement is scheduled before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which will be on either May 2 or 3.

       According to Amirudin, of the total area that was previously degazetted, 97% will be regazetted as forest reserve and the remaining 3% will be allocated for Orang Asli villages.

       "A few hundred acres will go towards building Orang Asli villages,'' said Amirudin at a press conference on Friday (March 25).

       Amirudin had said in a statement in September last year that 42ha from the total 534ha would remain under degazettement to be given to Kampung Orang Asli Busut Baru, which has been pending since 2006.

       "They (the villagers) were moved from their original settlement in 1994 for the construction of KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport)," he said.

       The Selangor state government came under heavy fire after it degazetted some 536.7ha of the KLNFR out of a total of 991.9ha for a mixed development project last May.

       Due to public outcry, Amirudin announced last September that the state would reverse the degazettement order.

       When contacted, Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) coordinator Dr Colin Nicholas said the land that will be given to the indigenous community was "due to them" as they had to make way for the construction of the KLIA in the 90s.

       He said some 1,000 acres had been degazetted to build villages for the Orang Asli but the community only received 90% of the allocation whilst about 10% of the remaining land went to outsiders.

       "Those who received the 10% were given titles whilst the land allocated to the Orang Asli did not come with titles,'' said Nicholas.

       He added the 3% that was being set aside for the Orang Asli community currently was a replacement of the 10% of the 1,000 acres that had "gone missing".

       Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman said her organisation welcomed Amirudin's announcement but the pending regazettement must not be delayed.

       "We would have preferred a much earlier action to regazette the forests.

       "However, as the saying goes, better late than never,'' added Raman.

       Meanwhile, Greenpeace Malaysia public engagement campaigner Nur Sakeenah Omar said the regazettement should ideally happen immediately and without any conditions attached.