91 3pct Rawang Residents Oppose Incinerator Project Eia

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The environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) Green Energy Plant found that 91.3 percent of respondents surveyed in 2025 either opposed or strongly opposed the proposed waste-to-energy incinerator project in Rawang, Selangor.
This is a major shift from earlier survey in 2023, which found that more than half (52.6 percent) of the residents there had initially approved of the project.
It attributed the shift in support to an increase in public awareness of the project.
"The high levels of opposition and strong opposition may be attributed to concerns about the potential negative impacts on the surrounding community, such as air pollution, odour, dust, and disturbances to daily activities.
"Additionally, worries over the construction and operational phases, such as health risks, pollution, and flash floods, further contributed to the disapproval," said the report published on May 7.
It said at the time of the first survey in April 2023, most respondents were still unaware of the proposed project.
"However, following the April 2023 survey, the project received widespread publicity among residents and in the media, including on social media platforms, leading to a shift in public perception observed in the second survey conducted in 2025," it added.
It led to residents living near the proposed project site forming the Rawang Tolak Incinerator Network (RTI), a group which consistently opposed the incinerator over health, safety and environmental concerns.
The EIA also noted that only 8.8 percent of respondents supported the project, with 2.5 percent marked down as strongly supporting it.
When asked about factors that influenced their support, 50.5 percent pointed to perceived environmental benefits, citing improved cleanliness, waste management and living standards.
Another 43.4 percent said the project could bring in local development.
For those who did not support the project, 50 percent mentioned pollution - water, air, noise, and others - as their main concern.
ADSUnsuitable location
At the same time, 44.8 percent expressed the opinion that the project site is unsuitable.
The report found that a population of 44,616 people from 9,999 households live within the SIS' zone of influence (ZOI).
"The majority of the population, at 32,443 individuals (72.7 percent) reside in the secondary ZOI, while the primary ZOI accounts for 12,173 individuals (27.3 percent)," it commented.
The primary ZOI includes areas up to 1.5km away from the site, while the secondary ZOI stretches from 1.5km to 3km away.
All of the respondents in the 2025 survey belonged to the primary ZOI, so comparisons could not be drawn on support levels between the two areas.
Furthermore, the report found that 28 residential areas, as well as 48 institutions and public facilities, were placed within 5km of the project site.
During engagement sessions with stakeholders, the top concern was the pre-construction issue related to perceptions of the project.
Concerns of the suitability of the site, the use of WTE technology in Malaysia, the suitability of routes to the site, as well as policies and enforcement had been raised 82.6 percent of the time.
The next biggest issue was on the quality of health and life of local communities, which was raised 77.3 percent of the time.
However, the EIA said that operation of the incinerator would have only moderate effects on air quality and odour pollution.
Effects on health, water quality, groundwater quality, noise pollution, and ecology will be low magnitude, it added.
For effects on the health of surrounding communities, it said "the health risks from air and water pollution during operation are rated from very low to moderate, all within acceptable health risk criteria".
Socio-economic impacts
Commenting on socio-economic impacts, it said there would be high levels of positive effects, namely in capacity-building for local communities and green technology in Selangor.
It also recorded a range of effects related to negative socio-economic impacts.
"There are four moderate socio-economic impact issues: odour pollution along the access route and surrounding area, air pollution from WTE plant operation, traffic congestion and safety, deterioration of the quality and image of the surrounding area," it said.
Low-level effects will be seen on the depreciation of land and property value, while it considers concerns of water pollution from the plant's operation as insignificant.
The plant's construction phase is expected to require more than 1,500 personnel at the site, which the EIA said will offer job opportunities to the local workforce.
"Once operational, the plant will employ over 100 personnel to manage day-to-day operations, providing long-term job stability," it added.
It said that construction of the plant should take around 16 months, with the installation of equipment scheduled between the 13th and 24th months.
"Testing and commissioning will be conducted within 10 months starting from month 25.
"The project is set to be completed and ready for operation in 36 months," it noted.
The WTE incinerator was proposed in 2003 by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) Waste Management and YTL Power International Bhd will oversee the plant.
KDEB is a subsidiary of Selangor Menteri Besar Incorporated.
Public viewing
The EIA is up for public viewing until June 5. It can be accessed here.
Public feedback can be provided through the form here.
Last month, RTI slammed the Selangor state government for evading queries during a public inquiry on the Selangor Draft Structure Plan 2035.
RTI spokesperson Abdul Hanan Abd Mokti said the queries were not "new" as the group has repeatedly sought clarification on the proposed incinerator project, but to no avail.
The media was also barred from attending the hearing, which housing and culture exco Burhan Ahmad Shah, who chaired the meeting, said was due to concerns of "manipulation". - Mkini

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