PN man presses for govt decision on PJD Link highway

 

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

PETALING JAYA: A Selangor state assemblyman from Perikatan Nasional has called for a state government decision to implement the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link highway project immediately.

Dr Afif Bahardin, the assemblyman for Taman Medan, said several residents associations had agreed that there was a need for the highway.

“I hope the state government will come to a decision on whether it has approved the project or not,” he said in a statement issued after a briefing on the project by the PJD Link management last night.

Earlier this month, the Selangor government decided that the alignment of the proposed highway needed to be improved.

Selangor executive councillor Izham Hashim told the state assembly that a social impact assessment report revealed that nearly 50% of complaints were received from residents in Petaling Jaya.

However, residents in Puchong seemed to be agreeable with the project, Izham said, which was why the state government wanted improvements to the highway alignment.

Izham was responding to Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei who urged for a definitive conclusion to the issue, suggesting that it should not be continually revived.

On Feb 24, Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari called for 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 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