THE Selangor government should not consider any resubmission of the proposal for the  Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link), residents groups said. 

They are still holding on to Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari’s announcement on July 31 that the project was scrapped. 

Amirudin said the project was scrapped because the developer did not fulfil requirements laid out by the government a year ago such as complying with social and environmental impact assessments (SIA, EIA).

He, however, said the project could be revived if the developer met the necessary requirements. 

Stakeholders cum Residents Against PJD Link chairman David Yoong Lai Hon said they found out that the developer has submitted a revised SIA report. 

“We checked with the Selangor Town and Country planning department and they said that they are in the midst of getting external experts to evaluate the SIA report.

“We were told it is not a new SIA report but a revised version of it. What we want is for the project to be scrapped,” he told The Malaysian Insight. 

Yoong said the project should be scrapped as it is far worse than the Kinrara Damansara Expressway (Kidex) that was cancelled in 2015. 

“Basically, what we are holding on to is what the MB said: that if it is similar to Kidex then it will be scrapped. 

“Then we checked and found that the developer had submitted a revised version of the SIA.

“We want to inform the MB that respondents from 27 out 31 focus groups conducted by the developers SIA consultants from Dec 22 to March 2023 have objected to the project.” 

He also said an independent survey conducted from Feb to April and endorsed by 17 residents’ associations, joint management bodies, and civil society groups resulted in 93% rejecting the project. 

Yoong said the MB should not approve the project in view of the objections by residents or consider any resubmissions by the developer.

He also said that they will be sending another memorandum soon to the MB to reject the project in view of the residents’ objections. 

As for the judicial review, Yoong said it is ongoing and their case management is to be heard on December 12.

“The affidavits have been submitted by both the appellant and respondent. We are carrying on to discover information on the TIA, EIA, SIA reports.”

The high court in July allowed four Petaling Jaya residents leave to pursue the disclosure of documents on the proposed PJD Link.

The residents, who filed their case on June 7, can commence with their judicial review to challenge the authorities’ refusal to hand over documents such as the project’s concession agreement, EIA, SIA, and TIA reports. 

The proposed PJD Link is to have a 25.4km dual carriageway starting after the NKVE toll plaza on the SPRINT Highway in Damansara. It ends at the Bukit Jalil highway interchange.

The project was planned to ease traffic congestion and support future growth in the Klang Valley. The PJD Link developer signed a concession agreement with the government on April 5 last year. – November 25, 2023.