Selangor should change stand on Kidex, says exco member
(The Malaysian Insider) – PKR’s Elizabeth Wong became the first Selangor executive councillor to ask her Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government to “revisit” its stand allowing the controversial Kidex expressway to be built across Petaling Jaya, as
protests mount over its construction.
There have persistent public pressure, including from PR lawmakers, for Selangor to reconsider the RM2.42 billion project, in the wake of revelations that it might not be as beneficial to Petaling Jaya residents as initially thought.
Wong, who is the Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment exco, said the state government should review its decision not to reject the Putrajaya-approved project given the staunch and informed opposition to it.
She added that the highway’s developer, Kidex Sdn Bhd, had also failed to submit the documents necessary for the project to be approved at the local council level.
“The residents have solid information to back their objections. The project is supposed to be in the public interest. But if it does not fulfill that interest, then the state should reject it.
“This should apply to all projects in the public’s interest, whether they are highways, electricity grids or water treatment plants,” Wong said after a meeting last night between Petaling Jaya residents opposed to Kidex and several PR lawmakers in Petaling Jaya.
Wong’s statement may signal a change in the Selangor government’s attitude towards the project and the opposition surrounding it.
In the past, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had staunchly defended the state government’s decision to allow it, as he claimed it could ease congestion in Petaling Jaya.
On June 11, he appeared to modify his stand after details emerged from the developers’ own study that Kidex would only lead to a miniscule drop in traffic once it is complete and operational.
Though the project was conditionally approved by the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government, the developer must get Selangor’s approval for a development order and construction licenses before it can actually beginning building.
Failure to do so would make any construction illegal.
The expressway has come under severe criticism by PJ residents who claimed that the project will worsen already clogged roads, risk the safety of schoolchildren and pollute neighbourhoods.
They have also criticised the state government for allowing the Putrajaya-approved Kidex project to go ahead.
If approved, the elevated Kidex would cut through neighbourhoods that have been in PJ since it was founded almost 60 years ago.
Its proposed route would cut through more than 3,700 parcels of land, including homes, factories, shops, shopping malls and schools.
The highway is supposed to start from Bandar Kinrara and go through Petaling Jaya, Damansara Kim, Kayu Ara before ending near Bandar Utama.
PR state lawmakers whose constituencies are affected by Kidex are also demanding that the state government scrap the project as they claimed a preliminary traffic impact assessment showed that it would only result in a negligible drop in congestion.
