Maria Chin clarifies that she's against MRT3 due to planned route

 

PKR's Petaling MP Maria Chin Abdullah has denied that she was against the notion of bringing a mass rapid transit system into Petaling Jaya following concerns raised by the community over the scrapped proposal for the MRT3 to cut across low-density Bukit Gasing.

She said her disagreement was with the initial proposed route from Pantai Hillpark that went underground below the Bukit Gasing Forest Reserve.

Maria added that the sacrifice of the forest reserve for the MRT project was a price that was too expensive.

"I would, therefore, like to provide some context to the situation and address and clarify some of the key concerns raised.

"Allocating the initial MRT3 route in Bukit Gasing makes no sense because those residential areas are not highly populated and have few mobility issues. In addition, it was too high a price to pay to see another forest reserve being spliced for MRT3," she said in a statement.

While expressing support for better public transport in Petaling Jaya and the whole country, especially in densely populated and low-income areas, Maria said any development planned must be sustainable and with full consideration for social, economic, and environmental impacts on peoples' lives.

She said the local residents had disagreed and protested against the proposed route, which goes underground below Gasing Hill and houses in Section 5, and an elevated station to be built in Jalan Gasing.

Maria said the resident groups who disagreed with the proposed route were the Residents Association of Section 5 PJ, Section 10 Residents Association, Gasing Coalition and Friends of Bukit Gasing.

"The concerns raised were valid. Why was such an important interchange station located in a low-density and quiet residential area rather than the high-density developed PJ central areas? Why destroy Bukit Gasing forest reserve when alternative routes could be considered?" she said.

Alternate proposals and protests were not considered

Maria said alternative proposals were made for the MRT system to be built in more densely populated areas such as Petaling Jaya Selatan and Petaling Jaya central, where more people will benefit from a better public transport system.

"I had personally met with the developer and proposed the possibility of making the whole MRT3 route as an underground system. At the end of the day, these proposals and protests were not considered, and the developer chose differently.

"In any development, there must be better ways to ensure buildings or transportation are more sustainable, but yet the developers do not seem to want to fit into a more people-oriented development," she said.

The Pakatan Harapan administration had suspended the MRT3 project. It was reinstated last year by the cabinet under the leadership of Muhyiddin Yassin after the Harapan government fell.

On March 4, this year, the current cabinet agreed to proceed with the MRT 3 Circle Line.

The circle line project was intended to link up the completed MRT1 running from Sungai Buloh to Kajang and the ongoing MRT2 running from Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya.

The third and final line in the Greater KL/Klang Valley Integrated Transit System would have covered areas surrounding, among others, Bandar Malaysia, Bukit Kiara and Sentul. - Mkini