PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has urged the Selangor state government to ensure that the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) motorway is not revived in the near future following hints made by caretaker Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari yesterday (July 31) that the project could be revived.
PSM Petaling Jaya branch coordinator Gandipan Nantha Gopalan said despite Amirudin announcing the project’s cancellation yesterday (July 31), the company behind the plan could still exert pressure on the state government through its subsidiaries or other companies in the future.
“The future state government must respect the people’s mandate and decision to oppose highway projects,” Gandipan said in a statement today (Aug 1).
“The Selangor state government and the central government must commit to not entertaining any proposals from private companies and must follow up with a moratorium on new highway constructions in the Klang Valley area.”
Amirudin, who is also the Gombak MP, announced the cancellation of the proposed PJD Link yesterday (July 31) citing dissatisfaction with the social impact assessment (SIA) report.
The controversial project which was previously approved by the federal government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in April last year.
Gandipan also called on the state government to release the environmental impact assessment (EIA), traffic impact assessment (TIA) and social impact assessment reports for the PJD Link Project for public scrutiny.
“The state government should not classify important development concession agreements that affect the people’s well-being under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972; the people have the right to know and access the contents of the documents as this is our democratic right.”
He emphasised that the state government should be committed to implementing a new and comprehensive public transport plan in order to reduce road congestion and ease people’s economic burdens, adding that this plan should focus on the entire Klang Valley area, particularly Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, and Puchong.
“The number of buses should be increased and the waiting time for buses should be reduced. If the Selangor state government lacks the financial capacity to implement this plan, the federal government should support this initiative financially,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gandipan also questioned Amirudin’s decision to halt the project only recently despite the fact that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report had previously been created and submitted to the state government by the PJD Link firm before April 5, 2023.
“Why was this decision not made after receiving the EIA report? What has changed now? This decision seems to have been made only to score political points during the state election,” he said.
Meanwhile, MUDA Bukit Gasing candidate, VKK Raja said the youth party vowed to maintain pressure on authorities to not revive PJD Link.
“We have witnessed this political drama before, and history has shown that projects like these can resurface under different names,” he said on his Twitter today (Aug 1).
The proposed PJD Link Expressway is a 25.4-km, two-lane dual carriageway (four lanes) expressway that commences after the NKVE toll plaza on SPRINT Highway, Damansara. It ends at the Bukit Jalil highway interchange.
The project is aimed at improving traffic congestion and caters to future vehicle growth in the greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley area. – Aug 1, 2023
Main pic credit: EdgeProp
