Urban Orchard KL Uncle Begs Public for Help After Foreigners Kill Animals & Chops Down Trees in Hidden Orchard
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.
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