LETTER | Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) welcomes the Federal Government’s decision to cancel the implementation of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.

On Aug 20, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had announced in China the cancellation of the ECRL for now.

However, SAM hopes that the decision to cancel the project is not only because of the excessive cost but has taken into account its impact on the environment, especially the destruction of forests and natural areas.

In fact, SAM hopes the government's decision to cancel the project is not just for now but will not consider it in the future.

All development planning, especially involving land-use change to be implemented by the federal and state governments, should refer to and take into account and not contradict all policies, physical planning plans, regulations and environmental-related guidelines.

SAM also hopes that the Federal Government would review and refine other project proposals that could have significant impacts on the environment, as contained in one of the initiatives in the Pakatan Rakyat 14th General Election manifesto.

The writer is the president of Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

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