I WOULD like to add another voice to the increasing number of concerned trail users of Bukit Kiara.

I started trail-running in Bukit Kiara a few months ago, which quickly became a regular activity among my colleagues before or after work.

However, one day, we came across a massive landslide caused by land clearing that obliterated a section of the trail.

Earth from land levelling and clearing (for housing development) was simply pushed over the side of a hill where the trail crossed, covering the whole hillside with red earth which is now vulnerable to more erosion.

No thought was given to the consequences of this irresponsible action. Boulders litter a section of another trail.

A few weeks later, we saw excavators and bulldozers pushing their way through a number of existing paths, expanding them without regard for the surrounding environment. The work carried out was quick, brutal and crude.

Trees were also cut down indiscriminately with no consideration for drainage, erosion or long-term use of the trail.

A City Hall contractor justified the development as being for our benefit but my friends and I fail to see it as an improvement on what was there before: good trails diligently maintained by users. When you are in Bukit Kiara you forget that you are in Kuala Lumpur.

Also, there was no prior indication that heavy machinery work was taking place where at any time of day there will be runners, bikers, walkers and horse riders along the trails. The trail users’ safety is paramount and is compromised when no prior warning is given.

Who in City Hall commissioned the trail widening and why? Who approved it? Who’s paying for it - taxpayers? What is the plan and who’s monitoring it? How could it have been done so quickly and why weren’t users consulted and informed?

The establishment of Traks as an organisation for trail users marks the seriousness with which Bukit Kiara users are taking the responsibility of maintaining this green lung for the good of all users - not just a particular group.

Bukit Kiara is a unique example of a recreation area that is managed by its users.

The years of low-impact trail-building and maintenance, and the growth of Bukit Kiara into a premier location for mountain biking and trail running are the work of its users. Traks should have been consulted.

Bukit Kiara should be protected as there is precious little else of such quality, popularity and accessibility in Kuala Lumpur and that it is much loved among numerous users, new and old.

It takes years to polish a gem, only days to crush it.

S.M. TOH, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – January 24, 2008