THE proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal (PJD) Link expressway will not cause a major dent in Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) chances in the state elections, lawmakers and observers said.

However, they admitted the issue could cause dissatisfaction among the voters, especially those living in the affected areas.

Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei said there would definitely be unhappiness among the voters on the status of the PJD Link.

“However, everything now is in limbo (project status), so the residents who are against it would want to see some form of closure to the issue,” she said.

“It would be careless of me to say the voters won’t be affected.”

She, however, said it would be difficult to gauge if there would be a backlash from the voters.

“The dissolution (of state assembly) date could be next week. It is a short period of time. So if the state government does not announce anything (on PJD Link), then there might not be any significant reaction from the voters,” she said.

“We hope the state government can consider the residents’ objection and the effect of construction because Petaling Jaya is a mature area.

“Any form of construction will have a negative effect on the entire traffic flow.”

Bandar Utama assemblyman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said voters would definitely have an opinion on the PJD Link issue.

“How much it will affect voters’ views? We don’t know,” she said.

“There are so many issues, and this is one of them the voters will be talking about.”

On Thursday, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran said although its developers announced that they have raised RM922 million in funding, the state government has not approved the project.

He said the developers did not mention anything about the state’s approval.

“It doesn’t matter if they got the money (for financing) or that they have contractors. Our approval is still our prerogative,” he said.

“It does not mean we (the state government) are obliged to approve (the project).”

Rajiv is a two-term assemblyman for the area.

The proposed PJD Link is a 25.4km two-lane dual carriageway expressway that begins after the North Klang Valley Expressway toll plaza on the Sprint Expressway. It ends at the Bukit Jalil interchange.

Difficult to unseat incumbents

International Islamic University Malaysia’s Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said while there could be a backlash, it would not be easy to unseat the incumbents.

“There would be a backlash because the voters expect their representatives to protect their interests,” he said.

“On whether voters’ anger can be enough to unseat an incumbent, that would depend on the strength of the other candidates.”

Tunku Mohar said it was up to the voters to decide who (which coalition) they want as the state government.

“There are many other factors, such as consideration on the choice of the state government that the voters want,” he said.

“But the voters could also blame the (current) state government if it does not cancel the project.”

He, however, said the incumbents would have a better chance if they are seen to be on the voters’ side on their issues.

“Voters appreciate representatives that have good constituency work,” he said.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia academic Mazlan Ali said the PJD Link project would definitely have a major effect on voters in the affected areas.

“This issue is quite isolated. It’s a community issue,” he said.

“I don’t think it will be a big issue that will affect the support for Pakatan Harapan.”

He said this was evident as PH would continue to get the support of the non-Malays.

“The non-Malays have no alternative to PH. They will not support Perikatan Nasional because PAS is involved in the Malay Proclamation with Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” he said.

Dr Oh Ei Sun from the Singapore Institute of International Affairs also agreed that the PJD Link issue would not affect voters as much as the increasing views on religiosity.

“The main contestations in the state elections by an increasing majority of voters are religiosity in their political outlook and agenda,” he said.

“So if bourgeois issues such as the PJD Link irk the PH supporters, they may stay home and not come out to vote.

“But as PAS has a formidable voter mobilisation mechanism, this will give an electoral edge to PN.”

Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi has said the PJD Link concessionaire has yet to fulfil the conditions of agreement.

He said the project received approval in principle from the federal government and policy approval from the Selangor government on September 30, 2020 before the concession agreement was signed on April 5 last year.

However, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the state government has not given approval to the developers. – June 11, 2023.