By ELAN PERUMAL and LIM CHIA YING
It is believed to be the first time the department has come across what appears to be legalised land encroachment into its territory.
In the past, there have been cases of illegal encroachments by squatters and smallholders.
The fact that Sungei Janggut foreest reserve occupants had been given individual land titles smacks of irregularity and is a breach of rules and procedures.
It was during the Forestry Department’s recent exercise to curb encroachment into the Kapar forest reserve that it discovered that the Kuala Selangor district land office had issued the titles without the consent of the Selangor government.
All mapped out: Yussainy with the Kapar forest reserve land map which shows the plots issued with titles. Investigations by the department revealed that the titles had not been recorded in the state gazette’s plan as required by the procedure.
StarMetro visited the area and found that the occupants of the forest reserve land had been issued with land titles in 1999.
Besides 30 houses that have the individual land titles, the area also houses five blocks of multiple-storey buildings and red-brick buildings used as bird houses by businessmen extracting the bird-nest delicacy.
There is also a fishermen’s jetty operated by the Sementa Fishermen’s Association. A few houses of worship have also been built.
The occupants have planted crops such as banana trees and oil palm in a section of the forest reserve after felling the forest trees.
There is also a prawn breeding pond in the area.
The houses and farming areas are all in an area with forestry department signboards declaring it to be a forest reserve.
For birds: The multiple-storey red-brick buildings are used by businessmen to extract the bird-nest delicacy. Some of the houses are built of timber and many are concrete structures with compounds, and water and electricity supply.
There are also tarred roads connecting the settlement to Jalan Kapar.
The Forestry Department had apparently initiated a RM144,500 10ha mangrove tree planting project in 2006 at the site where the fishermen’s jetty currently is, as a protective wall against waves from the sea.
However, the construction of the jetty had upset the ecology of the mangroves, with nearly an acre of the mangrove land from the 10ha project already gone.
Some of these trees were believed to be illegally logged for use as wood piling for the jetty.
An application dated July 14 this year was submitted on the construction of the jetty, which was received by the forestry department from the Kuala Selangor land office.
But it seemed that construction works on the jetty had started on July 8, a week before the application was submitted.
State forestry department assistant director (enforcement and operations) Mohd Yussainy Mohd Yusop confirmed that land titles had been issued to occupants of the forest reserve land.
“Our investigation revealed that the state executive council has not approved such titles and the titles are therefore not in conformation with the state’s gazette plan,” Yussainy said.
“We are shocked this has happened and the matter has been brought to the attention of the state agriculture chairman Yakob Safari,” he said.
Yussainy said that they had submitted a comprehensive report on the finding to the state.
One of the occupants, Lau Swee Chin, said she had been living in the area for 10 years now and was given a title for the land she was occupying.
“We also pay assessment for our land but are not aware that we are occupying forest reserve land,” she said.
Fishermen’s jetty: This is operated by the Sementa Fishermen’s Association Currently, rangers from the Port Klang Forest Ranger Office have been deployed to patrol the area as part of the enforcement exercise.
The 138.2ha forest reserve is said to be among the more attractive and unique ones in Selangor as it faces the beach front.
At one time, there was a proposal to turn the area into the first one-of-its-kind beachfront forest reserve.
However, it is not known whether the plan is viable now that some 50ha of the total forest area had been cleared for the settlement.
Yakob said the state was investigating the complaint from the Forestry Department.
He said the titles had been issued many years ago and it would take time for a thorough investigation.
“It appears that the land office did not follow the procedures and this is a very serious matter. We also believe that this is just the tip of the ice berg,’’ he said.
Yakob said that the state government would take firm action on the culprits responsible for the fiasco.
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