You may have heard of Urban Orchard KL, a pet project by a man named Uncle Yen who has painstakingly cared for a public area in TTDI for the past few years by planting trees and cleaning up the area. Now, Uncle Yen has reached out to the public for help to start a petition to the government or court order for the irresponsible people to stop further damaging the ecosystem in the river after his police report did not produce any results.
In 2016, after losing his youngest son, Yen Maseri Hj Idris, or Uncle Yen started planting fruit trees along the riverbank of Sungai Penchala, near the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery where his son is buried to cope with his grief. He turned the mosquito-infested spot which was overrun with weeds, wild bushes, and trees into a tranquil spot where there are a variety of fruit trees and animals.
Urban Orchard Kuala Lumpur (UOKL) became a community project to create a sanctuary for people who are struggling with mental health issues and to share the fruits of his labour with the public who are welcome to join him in tending the orchard during the UOKL Open Day every Sunday.
Murder of His Python
Unfortunately, there are now several foreigners who are ruining the hard fruits of his labour with their irresponsible actions. Earlier this year, he posted that on 16 October 2022, his beloved python Pablo was strangled. “They strangled him — covered his head with (a) glove, tied his neck with plastic string and let him suffocate and die”, his Instagram post read.
Uncle Yen further explained that the ‘Jala people’ who murdered his python were foreign workers who rented one of the units at the Desa Kiara Condominium (DKC) facing the UOKL river. Around 1-2 a.m., they would climb the wall and jump into the river and catch the “mother tilapias and damage the tilapia houses. This will slow the growth of the baby tilapias in the UOKL river”, he said.
Lodging a Police Report
On 13 September, Uncle Yen reported that his beloved monitor lizard, Mr Brown was killed by the Jala people as it was badly injured with a blunt object. The Jala people also threw dead fish onto the sand and in the orchard. When he wanted to feed Mr. Brown, he was nowhere to be found and Uncle Yen found the reptile lying dead across the river. Uncle Yen was also grieved about the fact that he could not bury it as it was about 70-80kg and its body was getting soft.
Every time an animal dies at the orchard or along the highway above it, Uncle Yen makes sure to give it a proper burial and mark its grave with a stone. In his Instagram post he said, “In my 6 years along the river, I have not seen a single ‘biawak’ or monitor lizard dying because of fighting. To ‘jala’ (catch) the fish is one thing but killing Mr. Brown was too much to swallow.” Uncle Yen proceeded to lodge a police report at the TTDI police station where UOKL is located.
Destroying the Palm Trees
Then on 14 September, Uncle Yen raised his frustration with the Jala people again because they cut the palm branches, which are a haven for the tilapias. He explained that the river is very shallow and by cutting the palm branches, the tilapia have nowhere to escape and the Jala people are able to catch them easily.
Uncle Yen lamented, “If the Jala people come every night, in less than three weeks the mature tilapias will be gone… If the authorities are not interested in saving this river and the ecosystem, then let it be.”
“For the last six years, I put my whole life (in)to the orchard, the river, and the urban forest. Don’t tell me my hard work for six years is useless. The Jala people disturb the ecosystem and that is why we are complaining. For how long will we let them do this? Don’t tell us we have no more authorities who can make decisions? Where are they when we need them?”
Cry to the Public for a Petition
On 17 September, Uncle Yen took to Instagram again to share videos of several Jala people casting nets in the UOKL river, with their purpose being to catch the fish to sell. In the video, Uncle Yen was heard shouting at the men and wailing desperately that they were taking all the fish while the men just jeered at him.
Uncle Yen called the police again and they informed him that the river belonged to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS) and not him. He said that all the police did was send the patrol police.
Uncle Yen pleaded for help again, saying, “I hope the public out there start a petition to the government or court order for the Jala people to stop further damaging the ecosystem in the river.”
Let’s hope the politicians will be able to take action and save UOKL and the ecosystem there!
Visit Urban Orchard’s website or follow them on Instagram or TikTok.
Image credit: @urbanorchardkl, urbanorchardkl.com