Declassify PJD Link concession agreement, LLM told

 

An artist’s impression of the proposed PJD Link highway which will pass through parts of Petaling Jaya. (PJDLink pic)

PETALING JAYA: PKR’s Lee Chean Chung has called on the Malaysian highway authority (LLM) to declassify the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) highway concession agreement following the project’s revival.

In a statement, Lee said the concession agreement should be disclosed to the public as residents had the right to know how their livelihoods would be affected.

The MP for Petaling Jaya added that motorists needed to be aware of the proposed toll rates too.

He said he had been provided with scarce information about the project, adding that his enquiries in the Dewan Rakyat had been met with vague and unsatisfactory replies.

Lee said access to the agreement document was essential for elected representatives, experts, and concerned citizens to engage in meaningful dialogue and to make informed decisions.

“There will be no meaningful consultation without important information disclosure,” he said.

Lee had made a similar call for disclosure in the lower house in March, only to be told by deputy works minister Ahmad Maslan that Putrajaya was obligated by a confidentiality clause within the concession agreement, making it challenging to declassify the information.

On Feb 24, Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari called on the developer of the proposed highway to renegotiate the project alignment with the federal government.

He said the state government had received a report from the developer after the state assembly elections last August which showed that Taman Medan and Kinrara residents were in support of the highway, but those in other areas had rejected it.

The PJD Link would have connected the north and south of Petaling Jaya, passing through Petaling Jaya Utara, Bandar Utama, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Petaling Jaya city centre, Taman Dato’ Harun, Taman Medan Baru, Taman Sri Manja, Bandar Kinrara and Bukit Jalil Technology Park.

The proposal for the highway’s construction was approved in principle by the Cabinet in November 2017. In September 2020, the state government also approved the project in principle, subject to receipt of the impact assessment reports.

Last year, Amirudin was reported to have said that the Pakatan Harapan state government had decided to scrap the PJD Link project. - FMT