How air travel will destroy my kampung (again)

I wrote in the early chapter of this blog that I have lost my kampung (hometown) due to intense development that had happened for the past 15 years. You can read that entry here - http://kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-i-lost-my-kampung.html. In that entry, I basically tell the story about my kampung in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, where most people will recognise as the adjacent town to KLIA other than Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi. Both in Nilai and Salak Tinggi, there are still my parents' relatives living around that area. Some of them even work with KLIA and LCCT itself. 

Before someone accuse me of being against development, let me say that I am not. My firm even have clients which are developers of housing projects around KLIA and LCCT. It made it easier for me to entertain them as I bring them out to my kampung when the trees at my mom's orchard bear fruits. I have used the advantage of having my clients around the town that I grew up as I can basically tell them certain insider's information to impress them on how much I know of their development. So, no, I have no problem per se about having another airport at my hometown.

Let me make it clear how far does the word 'my hometown' encompass in relation to the existence of KLIA and LCCT (and to some extent the new airport). My mom was born in Nilai. My dad's old kampung house is in Salak Tinggi. Both are just 10km from each other although at different states. My mom's ply the road between Nilai and Seremban when she was still a little girl with my late grandfather. My father's father work as a clerk at the Sepang Land Office which basically guards over all the lands in the KLIA and LCCT vicinity. My parents have lands just 5 km outside of KLIA. We managed to 'not' get the golden opportunity to get millions when KLIA was built as our lands were spared from being taken over by the government to built KLIA. Then in 1979, my mom bought a house in Seremban. I went to primary school for 2 years in Seremban between 1982 and 1984. I also went to secondary school in Labu (a town said to be associated with the new airport) between 1987 to 1990 before I continue in Seremban for my SPM. I also work in Seremban after my graduation between 1999 and 2000. So, just imagine how far intertwine is my family's life and these airports.

Now, they are going to built another airport which is just 30 kilometres from the first airport. It is a need for the air travel industry. Clear and simple. To them at least. The people there, who might or might not like it, are just collateral damages (if any).

Do they know what happened to a kampung when new airports are built near it? The durians in my mom's orchard had to adjust to bear fruits again after KLIA was completed as the noise from the planes taking off made them a bit affected (which we of course can't hear). I may be wrong as there maybe a thesis on how an airport actually didn't affect anything at all within certain radius and that radius has been factored in when they built the facilities. These modern development of course will always impact the lifestyle of simple kampung people who can now see airplanes flying off at speed unimaginable on land and they can now can even fly off to lands they seen on TV. I do wonder if there are really no repercussion when airports are near housing estates then why did those people in Britain, one of the most advance country in the world, protested when they wanted to expand Heathrow?

* glossary - kampung = village