Protesters say no to Suke Highway

Some 200 residents of Taman Bukit Segar Jaya Two and Three, Selangor held a protest against the proposed Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (Suke) today.

The protest at noon took place at the entrance of the posh Taman Bukit Segar Jaya Two and lasted about five minutes, with protestors chanting "Object!" and carried placards that, among others, read "No to Suke Highway," "Prolintas destroys", and "No elevated highway in residential areas, schools, kindergartens."

At the press conference after the protest, Pandan MP Ong Tee Keat (orange shirt) said highway concessionaire Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) had failed to hold public consultations with the affected residents of Cheras Hartamas, Bukit Segar Jaya, Taman Putra, Bukit Permai and part of Ampang.

"So far they have no knowledge whatsoever; what the configuration is going to be like, whether the elevated highway would end up at their doorsteps or by their windows - and that is likely to happen. They have been raising these concerns time and again on this matter."

He said he would have preferred to leave the matter to the Ampang Jaya City Council (MPAJ), but had to step in after media reports said that there was no opposition to the highway.

This, he said, was despite residents making their objections clear at public consultations held by the MPAJ.

Therefore, he said, Prolintas had been called to attend preliminary discussions at his office tomorrow, with representatives from the affected residents' associations.

When asked, he declined to name the source cited in the media reports, saying that he just wanted to set the record straight and not to engage in political bickering.

 'No' to pylons

In his speech prior to the protest, Ong also congratulated the residents on their completion of a landscaping project today, and for the third year of their steadfast opposition to TNB's plans to build electricity pylons, which he said had similarities with the Suke project due to the lack of public consultation.

"We managed to achieve the greening effort in Bukit Segar Jaya, and would certainly not wish to see it all go to waste because of the installation of pylons in its vicinity," he said.

According to Prolintas' website, the Suke Highway is a 31.8km, three-lane, dual carriageway, with 11 traffic interchanges and three toll plazas.

It says that Suke is meant to serve as an alternative to the Middle Ring Road Two (MRR II), alievating traffic congestion in Cheras, Pandan Indah, and Ampang.