Residents’ association protests PJD Link at forum attended by Selangor MB

 

A group unfurling a banner protesting against the PJD Link highway during an environmental forum attended by Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari.

PETALING JAYA: An environmental forum attended by Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari turned a little tense after a residents’ association protested the possible revival of the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) elevated highway project.

The protesters, who are part of the Stakeholders cum Residents Against PJD Link (ScRAP) group, held up banners in protest of the project just as Amirudin was ending his speech.

This prompted the organisers to plead with the protesters for a few minutes to sit down, but they refused, leading to a heated argument with ScRAP chairman David Yoong.

A man believed to be with the organisers was heard accusing Yoong of “sabotaging” the event, a charge the latter denied.

The organisers then confiscated the banners.

Yoong later defended the group’s action.

“We’ve written so many letters and submitted four memorandums to the menteri besar’s office but we’ve not received any response from them,” he told reporters outside the PJ Live Arts where the Global Warming and Environmental Forum was held.

He said the first memorandum was sent in March 2022, while the latest one was submitted on Dec 18.

Yoong said in July last year, just before the state elections, Amirudin decided to scrap the project after the impact assessment reports submitted by the developer failed to meet certain conditions and were deemed unsatisfactory.

Yoong urged Amirudin to stick with the decision to call off the construction of the PJD Link highway, which would not benefit residents or the environment.

“Petaling Jaya is supposed to be a low-carbon city but the elevated highway will damage and destroy the surrounding environment,” Yoong said, adding it would lead to the creation of heat islands under the highway.

Heat islands are areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas.

He also expressed concerns over the lack of exits for the PJD Link highway, stating that it serves merely as a highway through the city without providing any convenience for residents to commute more efficiently or connect conveniently to nearby shopping centres.

Last month, Selayang MP William Leong said the proposed highway “is back” six months after the state made a promise to cancel 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 the 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. - FMT