Semenyih

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For the coaster, see MV Semenyih.

Semenyih (2.9 N, 101.85 E) is a small town in Selangor, Malaysia, about 8 km southeast of Kajang along the Kajang-Seremban road. The meaning of the name of the town is not certain. It might have been derived from a word in the Negeri Sembilan dialect, meaning "hidden".

[edit] Situation

The town is becoming less and less hidden as the Kuala Lumpur conurbation (usually called the Klang Valley) expands. The town shares its name with the Semenyih River, which is the main river passing near the town. The catchment area of this river is an important source of water for Kuala Lumpur and other parts of the Klang Valley.

The surrounding area is quite hilly, the highest peak nearby being Bukit Arang, 560 m (1838 ft) high. This makes the area home to numerous scenic waterfalls. A more popular tourist attraction in the town is the Ostrich Wonderland Show Farm. The town is rapidly becoming more accessible, thanks to new highways (such as the Kajang-Seremban Highway and the Kajang SILK Highway), and more attractive due to new development (including, for example, the Malaysian campus of the University of Nottingham). This transformation from town to metropolis is also reflected in the growth in its population. The 15100 people recorded in the 1991 census had grown to over 45000 by 2000. This corresponds to an annual growth rate of 12.9%, compared with the national average of 2.66% over the same period.

[edit] Incinerator project

A 1.5 billion ringgit incinerator project was planned for a site between Semenyih and nearby Broga by the federal government. In early 2005, a temporary injunction was issued, stopping work on the project, in response to a lawsuit by residents of the two towns. The project has since been scrapped.^[1]

[edit] Sunway Semenyih

Sunway Semenyih is a new township located along the Kajang Semenyih road. There are two new highways near to this township:

1. Silk Highway, which belongs to a subsidiary of Sunway Group, a property conglomerate.^[2]

2. Kaseh Highway, which belongs to IJM Corporation, another conglomerate in Malaysia.^[3] This highway allows access to Kuala Lumpur and Seremban.

The township construction has been planned in 19 phases. As of 2008 seven phases had been completed. Facilities include a clubhouse with a swimming pool and coffee house. A river runs through the township.

[edit] Residents Association

Residents applied to the Selangor state office of the Malaysia Registrar of Societies to establish a residents association called Bandar Sunway Semenyih Residents Association, as a channel for all problems that residents might encounter.

[edit] Environmental considerations

There are three factories located very near to the houses:

1. IB sofa Sdn Bhd, which employs workers from Myanmar, Vietnam, China, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The factory runs all day every day. Workers live inside the factory compound which creates problems of noise and privacy.

2. Everise Steller Sdn Bhd [3].

3. Pau Tatt Sdn Bhd

There are also nearby quarries run by Hanson Quarry Sdn Bhd, owned by a UK based company and Kajang Rock Quarry, which create environmental pollution with their asphalt manufacturing process.