Ronnie Liu apologises to opposition leader

SHAH ALAM: Sungai Pelek state assemblyman Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew today apologised to the Selangor State Legislative Assembly Opposition Leader following confusion over the project to cut down mangrove plants involving the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPS).

"I want to apologise to the Opposition Leader (Datuk Rizam Ismail - BN-Sungai Air Tawar) because during the previous session, he raised the PKPS issue involving the coastal area in his state constituency.

"During that session, I thought that the project was not approved by the PH (then Pakatan Rakyat) government but, after checking, I found that it was approved by the PH (then Pakatan Rakyat) government. So, I wish to apologise," he said at the Selangor state assembly sitting here today.

The media had previously reported that Rizam, at the previous state assembly session, claimed that the state government had not taken the initiative to restore the mangrove swamp land that should have been used for a big-scale oil palm plantation project involving the PKPS in an area at Kampung Dato Hormat in Sungai Ayer Tawar in 2008.

Rizam claimed that the area was abandoned after the mangrove plants were chopped down but former state Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Elizabeth Wong denied that the approval was given after Pakatan Rakyat came to power in Selangor.

-- BERNAMA