Some resident groups in Petaling Jaya are concerned that the Kinrara–Damansara Expressway (Kidex) highway project, which was scrapped in February 2015, is being revived in the form of the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) highway.
Sheikh Moqhtar Kadir, a spokesperson for "Concerned Residents Section 14, PJ Action Committee objecting PJD Link", said they are worried the new project will be a repackaging of the Kidex which was already rejected previously.
This comes after Selangor State Executive Councillor Izham Hashim told the state assembly on Nov 9 that the PJD Link proposal was discussed at a State Economic Council (MTES) meeting recently.
In raising the PJD Link issue, Izham stressed that no approval had been given for the project to proceed. He said the traffic impact assessment, social impact assessment, and environmental impact reports have not been carried out.
"We are worried that this new highway is just a rebranding of Kidex," Sheikh Moqhtar told Malaysiakini.
"We have noticed that the point-to-point plan of this highway is from Sungai Kayu Ara to Bukit Jalil which is just the same as Kidex.
The Kidex expressway was intended to have been a 90 percent elevated expressway and was estimated to cost RM2.42 billion.
It commenced in 2013 but was shut down in 2015 soon after Azmin Ali replaced Khalid Ibrahim as the menteri besar.
"Back then, we wrote to the state government and the menteri besar's office gave us a written communication on Sept 19, 2016 that there was no application made to Jabatan Perancangan Selangor and hence there was no cause for concern.
"We also met with then Works Minister Fadillah Yusof in 2017 who also told us that there were no plans to revive Kidex but that the PJD Link was approved at the federal level only," said Sheikh Moqhtar.
He said residents were quite pacified until news of the MTES meeting broke.
"State executive councillor Ng Sze Han mentioned that there is a new developer who is set to engage in discussion with residents over the PJD Link.
"When we heard that a developer would engage with residents, we thought it would be a townhall meeting with all stakeholders but instead the developer has been having informal meetings.
"We didn't attend as we did not want it to considered due process," Sheikh Moqhtar added.
When contacted by Malaysiakini over the matter, Ng who is the State Executive Councillor for Local Government, Public Transport, and New Village Development said:
"This is still at the preliminary stage and we are waiting for more details on this project.
"There is a need for the PJD link to have early engagement and open discussion with residents. Residents' views must be taken into consideration," said Ng, who is also the state assemblyperson for Kinrara.
Kinrara is one of the areas impacted by the proposed area. Bukit Gasing is another, and assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran has also raised the issue of the PJD Link project.
Rajiv spoke out during a question-and-answer session at the Nov 9 state assembly sitting when Isham raised the matter, saying, "We rejected Kidex some years ago, why don’t we just reject this at the first instance?"
Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah also said in a statement earlier this month that she had met informally with PJD Link (M) Sdn Bhd to raise the concerns of residents and better understand the developer’s plans.
“For the moment, I am inclined to stand with the original position on Kidex and the policy that intra-city highways are not sustainable, cause more harm than good, and are not in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and the promotion of mass public transportation system as we move towards low carbon cities,” said Maria.
Awareness campaigns
Sheikh Moqhtar said his group has conducted campaigns to spread the word that the Kidex highway could return in a different form and has met with residents in Section 14, 19, 20, 22, and 12 of Petaling Jaya.
"We are hopeful that the Selangor government can kill it off and take it off the Selangor Development Plan, said Michael Kum, a former "Say no to Kidex" activist and current Taman Paramount Residents Association secretary.
"If not, after 15 years, lo and behold, a highway will appear."
Sheikh Moqhtar and Kum believe that while Azmin is no longer Selangor MB, the promises made by the Pakatan Harapan government and the Menteri Besar's office should still stand by its commitment not to proceed with the highway, particularly given the large protests against the project when it was originally mooted.
Sheikh Moqhtar urged the state government to honestly engage the community and adopt an open mind as to what kind of transportation model is most relevant to the current situation.
"We believe that there is no need to revive such a contentious project.
"It can be addressed by looking at areas where there are bottlenecks. If agreeable we can have elevated road at those points."
He also commended the MRT and LRT lines in the area, saying that a study should be undertaken to see if there is a need to improve the feeder bus service to the MRT stations.
"I think MRT/LRT is superb and popular but the feeder busses have to be on a very regular schedule. This is a better option for the whole of the Klang Valley to consider instead of expansive highway projects."
He added his concerns that if the new alignment were to involve the Penchala River then many homes in the neighbourhood would be affected.
"Another concern is also the flash flooding we experienced in May this year in the factory area of Jalan 223," he said. - Mkini
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