Kampung Pasir residents stage a walkout during public briefing

(NST) – More than half of about a hundred residents from Kampung Pasir in Pengkalan Rinting area staged a walkout during a public dialogue at a hotel here this morning.

The public dialogue held at the MSuites Hotel here at 9.15am was about the issues related to the development of the village and specifically a sewage treatment plant in the area.

Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed attended the event. Nur Jazlan, who is also the Pulai Member of Parliament, briefed the audience after listening to the grouses of the villagers.

Also present were representatives from the Johor Baru City Council.

Prior to the walkout, the public briefing turned chaotic when half the crowd walked-out as Nur Jazlan wanted to brief the unhappy residents on the future of the area.

Some were seen holding banners against development in the area as they felt the sewage treatment plant would mar their village.

Nur Jazlan urged for calmness and also told those attending the public dialogue not to politicise the issue and rather look at the problem with an open mind.

He said the issue is mainly to do with development and promised to look into the grouses of the residents regarding the proposed sewage treatment plant.

The proposed sewage treatment plant on a 7.2ha site in Kampung Pasir has been making more than 3,000 residents uneasy as they fear that it might affect their livelihood.

The residents have been appealing to the state government for several months to relocate the plant to a sparsely populated area.

The residents learned about the project late last year following the development of a luxurious property near Danga Bay.