Talk of PJ highway revival surprises state rep

Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran says documents have been sighted online that appear to show the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link being tabled for discussion.

PETALING JAYA: Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran has questioned the state government about documents that have emerged online that appear to show the long-mooted Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link being tabled for discussion.

Rajiv, who has previously opposed the highway, told FMT that answers were badly needed. “I call upon PJD Link Sdn Bhd and the authority for highways to share with Petaling Jaya residents any details on the matter,” he said.

Rajiv could not confirm the legitimacy of the documents in the image posted online, but said he was aware of certain dealings related to the highway project.

“What we know is that PJD Link has met the state government and presented something. We are curious to know what it was,” he said.

Residents of Section 14 had protested against the highway plans in 2016, and the residents’ association chairman Selva Sugumaran said at the time that about 40 houses in the neighbourhood would have to be acquired by the developer.

Officials in Putrajaya had confirmed in 2016 that the PJD Link had submitted a proposal for a 34.3km dual-carriage expressway with four lanes and eight interchanges or ramps, similar to the axed Kinrara-Damansara Expressway.

Former municipal councillor Mak Khuin Weng, who has long opposed both the PJD Link and Kidex, said the documents seen online would officially be the furthest the PJD Link project had ever got, if real.

Residents of Section 14 protested against the plan in 2016, and residents’ association chairman Selva Sugumaran said about 40 houses would have to be acquired.

He said if the project was given the go-ahead, people should be asking Pakatan Harapan why it was allowed, as it had the authority to quash it during its tenure.

“We need transparency. They need to share what is going on with the stakeholders,” said Rajiv.

The Federal Government had previously approved Kidex, but the project was shot down at the state level when the developer failed to produce adequate supporting studies for its proposal.

The PJD Link, which has in the past been labelled merely a rebranded Kidex, has long been floated but never formally submitted to the Selangor government for discussion.

Anti-Kidex lobbyists previously discovered that PJD Link Holdings Sdn Bhd shared the same address as Emrail, a key company behind the Kidex project, which sparked beliefs in some circles that the two projects were related. Both parties have denied the allegations.

Selangor assemblymen have long insisted that the project has never been formally brought before them. - FMT