They say the move violated national land laws which prohibit granting of land inside a reserve.

“Granting land inside a reserve is against the provisions of the National Land Code 1956. We therefore demand that the menteri besar Amirudin Shari explains this.

“Any land titles that were granted unlawfully should be cancelled. The Batu Caves reserve must be expanded, not cut back. The Batu Caves area is presently reserved for public recreation,” they said in a statement.

The group, which includes the Batu Caves Special Interest Group and Malaysian Cave & Karst Conservancy, said the state must respect Batu Caves as a national treasure or risk losing this site which holds unique species and outstanding ecological, geological, and cultural value.

“Batu Caves is the best-studied limestone hill in Southeast Asia with many valuable natural-history characteristics that are threatened,” they said.

The group comprising 17 NGOs also urged the government to take action against a recent open burning site that was visible next to the Batu Caves limestone hill, adding that a fire in 2016 had burned over 325 sq m of land.

“Following the fire, the Selangor government called for greater protection for the Batu Caves hill. However, a third of the 145-hectare hill remains unprotected,” they said.

The NGOs have now asked for the state to give protection to the entire Batu Caves hill and its buffer zones in order to avoid another fire.

Recently, the state government degazetted a total of 536.7 hectares of land in the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve.

However, after a hue and cry, it has decided to regazette it as reserve land.