PUCHONG residents, increasingly frustrated with the Selangor government’s management of the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) elevated highway project, have decided to seek assistance from the state opposition to get their issue resolved for good.

Saktiseelan Shivasubramaniam, the secretary of Kinrara Residents Against PJD Link (KRAP) – a group voicing their concerns for residents in Kinrara, Puchong, over the proposed elevated highway – said the residents have grown tired of the indecision of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government.

“We have now decided to turn our hopes to the opposition and we are going with Perikatan Nasional (PN) because we have given up on the (state) government.

“Numerous times we have approached the PH leaders and nothing worked out,” he told The Malaysian Insight, adding PN leaders have agreed to help them in this fight.

The Kinrara area will also be affected by the proposed development.

Residents along the proposed 25.4km dual carriageway have long objected against the development, the most prominent being Petaling Jaya residents via the Sustainable Petaling Jaya Association (SPJA) and Stakeholders cum Residents Against PJD Link (SCRAP).

In July this year, just ahead of the six state polls, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari announced that the PJD Link project was scrapped.

Amirudin said that it was cancelled because the developer failed to meet requirements by the government a year ago, including compliance with social and environmental impact assessments.

The Gombak MP later clarified that the project could still be revived if the developer met the necessary requirements.

Now residents are hearing that the project is back on the board again after the developer had resubmitted the necessary paperwork.

Saktiseelan said they have heard that the developer has submitted another Social Impact Assessment (SIA), and checks through the Town and Country Planning Department (PlanMalaysia) revealed that it has been approved.

“Based on our checks on November 17 at PlanMalaysia, we found that PJD Link Sdn Bhd had made another submission of the SIA,” he said.

“Another check showed that the resubmitted SIA was approved.

“Now, our concern is this – once the SIA is cancelled, they (developer) can’t resubmit it. If they wish to do do, they have to do the whole process again, starting with the town hall sessions and discussions with residents.

“This resubmission was done discreetly and since the resubmitted SIA was approved, there has been a single response or statement from the state government,” Saktiseelan said.

In late November, Residents Against PJD Link chairman David Yoong had also said they discovered the developer had submitted a revised SIA report, emphasizing their desire for the project to be scrapped.

Backing the residents, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran also said the Selangor government should stop considering the project as it has already been rejected twice.

Using the opposition for good cause

Saktiseelan said that residents in Selangor could benefit from the number of opposition elected reps in the state assembly to get the project scrapped entirely.

“The state polls showed that the opposition in Selangor has gotten stronger with 22 seats.

“So, we feel we can use this opportunity to get them to pressure the state government for an update.

“We want to know what is happening behind the scenes between the state government, PlanMalaysia and the developer of the PJD Link.

“Because after the SIA resubmission and approval, nothing was communicated to us.

“Also, we could use this to pressure the state to stand firm with the menteri besar’s decision before the state polls,” he said.

Saktiseelan said they will be bringing this matter to the former menteri besar and current state opposition leader Mohamed Azmin Ali.

He said that Azmin, who during his tenure as MB had cancelled the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), was also not inclined to proceed with the PJD Link Project.

“We also want to bring this to Azmin’s attention in the hope that this matter can be tabled in the state assembly.

“We realise that the PJD Link issue has not been brought up for quite a while,” he said.

Before the state polls, Azmin told the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast, hosted by former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and his former Umno comrade Shahril Hamdan, that the PN would not entertain any request to revisit the PJD Link project, should they win the state.

Saktiseelan said that KRAP would handover another memorandum to the menteri besar this morning to object against the project.

“It is simple. We, the residents in Kinrara, are against the PJD Link because of the negative repercussions and implications.

“We don’t want this project to take place because quality of life will degrade, among others,” he said.

The proposed PJD Link will start after the NKVE toll plaza on the Sprint Highway in Damansara and end at the Bukit Jalil highway interchange.

The project is said to be able to ease traffic congestion and support future growth in the Klang Valley.

The PJD Link developer signed a concession agreement with the state government on April 5 last year. – December 18, 2023.