WORKS Minister Fadillah Yusof must explain why approval was granted for the Petaling Jaya Dispersal (PJD) Link while a similar project was cancelled, residents opposed to the former said.

Coalition Against PJD Link Highway leader Sheikh Moqhtar Kadir PJD Link was merely a rebranded Kinrara Damansara Expressway (Kidex), which was scrapped in 2015 and removed from the Selangor State Structural Plan 2035.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amiruddin Shari had confirmed this at a PKR meeting on September 1, 2021.

“Why did the (Works Ministry) not exclude PJD Link Highway from the Malaysia Highway Authority’s Highway Network Development Plan 2030?,” Sheikh Mokhtar asked in a statement today.

“How was PJD Link given approval in principle when Kidex was to be removed from the Selangor State Structural Plan 2035? 

“We seek the minister’s consideration to review the validity of the concession agreement since the minister acknowledged the cancellation of Kidex in parliament in 2016.”

It was reported that the PJD Link, Putrajaya-Bangi Expressway, and Kuala Lumpur Northern Dispersal Expressway projects have been approved in principle by the federal government. 

Petaling Jaya residents are opposed to the proposed the PJD Link, 34.3km dual carriageway as well as its incarnation as Kidex, saying the elevated highway would cut through their neighbourhoods and affect up to 1,000 homes.

The residents said the proposed highway will result in a high traffic flow and air and noise pollution.

The highway is designed to run along Jalan Penchala and Jalan Sultan, crossing the Federal Highway towards Jalan Professor Khoo Kay Khim and Jalan Harapan, and then turning west along the SPRINT Highway towards the New Klang Valley Expressway Damansara toll plaza. – August 3, 2022.