Khalid on the wrong highway

Completely disregarding Pakatan Rakyat's manifesto of phasing out toll highways, Khalid Ibrahim is now in full support of BN's entire toll highway network.

By Perin Petrus

Not satisfied with supporting the controversial Kidex highway, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has now come out in full support of the entire Barisan National toll highway network for Selangor, conveniently abandoning all the principles included in Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto.

In media reports recently, the MB came out saying Kidex is part of an “intricate network” of six expressways planned for Selangor by the BN government  and “pulling the plug on any one of these projects would likely affect the others”.

“If Kidex does not happen, Skip won’t happen either,” he said.

The Star Online even went so far as to carry the laughable headline that “Five other expressways won’t be built if Kidex is called off”.

If Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers and the public were worried about Khalid’s allegiances, these latest statements can only confirm their fears.

Khalid, who until recently denied any detailed knowledge about Kidex as he “is yet to receive” the relevant reports, has suddenly transformed into an expert on the whole proposed BN “toll highway network” proposed for Selangor.

Is the MB, who was recently compared to a “famous gymnast in Putrajaya“, now willing to contort himself into any position to advance the interests of the Kidex project developers, which includes former Umno lawyers, and the BN government in Putrajaya?

Let’s put aside the baseless statement that scrapping Kidex would derail Selangor’s highway network. Kidex has around ten times fewer connections than the LDP between the same start and finish points.

Its lack of connectivity disproves Khalid’s claim that it is an integral part of any “network”. At best Kidex is a standalone bypass highway for the LDP that will run across established neighbourhoods – nothing more.

The real issue for Pakatan Rakyat, however, is not technical. It’s political.

Has Khalid’s continuing zealous support for Kidex, and apparently now for the whole BN “toll highway building project” demonstrated, perhaps conclusively, that he has abandoned the principles of Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto once and for all?

Pakatan Rakyat campaigned on a manifesto professing they would phase out toll highways, end the monopoly of infrastructure, combat cronyism and corruption and promote public transportation and sustainable development. Kidex, as has been shown by its opponents including the ‘Say No to Kidex’ Committee, is the opposite of these.

As the MB of Malaysia’s richest state Khalid  has the capacity to deliver on these promises.

Rather than turning Kidex into a historic political opportunity to prove that Pakatan Rakyat will make good on its election commitments and remains a true alternative to BN, the MB is doing just the opposite.

Members of his own party have referred to Kidex as a “BN crony project” .

Some have criticised him for acting like a BN leader. Others have said the MB’s support for Kidex could cost Pakatan the next election.

The media has questioned why Khalid is willing to risk everything to support a project that neither his own party nor the public wants. Does it have something to do with his Bank Islam settlement, they have asked?

Whatever the reason, the facts should be clear to all concerned. Unless Pakatan Rakyat acts decisively and immediately to align its political leadership in Selangor with its political commitments in their manifesto, they risk suffering the consequences.

There is still time for Pakatan Rakyat to demonstrate they still are who they said they were before GE13 – but that ‘time’ is running out fast.