Menteri besar Amirudin Shari said his office had previously submitted a development plan for the forest reserve, but it was cancelled so that the forest could be gazetted.

He said the notice issued by the Selangor forestry department might have been republished to manipulate certain parties regarding the gazetting of the forest reserve.

“I’m not sure (the issue of the forest degazetting notice) but as I recall, the state executive council meeting had clearly decided that we want to re-gazette the forest reserve area,” he told the media after inspecting the Shah Alam Sports Complex Redevelopment Plan exhibition hall at SACC Mall today.

“Those issues have not arisen, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the Selangor State Park issues have been resolved. We have taken action, the developer has also made a statement. But sometimes (some parties) want to manipulate the issue, what can we do,” he said.

In a separate development, Amirudin said 95% of the 10,000 visitors who attended the Shah Alam Sports Complex Redevelopment Plan exhibition at SACC Mall in Shah Alam agreed with the proposed initial design of the sports complex.

He hopes that groundbreaking can be done in the first quarter of this year and that construction of the complex should go hand in hand with the Light Rail Transit (LRT) services near the area which is expected to operate next year.