Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has called on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to guarantee that it will not consider any future proposals to revive the controversial PJD Link highway project. This comes after Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari hinted last night that there was a chance for the project to be re-considered.
According to PSM, despite the project’s cancellation announcement by Amirudin, the company behind the plan could still exert pressure on the state government in the future.
“The Selangor state government and the central government must commit not to entertain any proposals from private companies and must follow up with a moratorium on new highway constructions in the Klang Valley area,” said PSM’s coordinator for Petaling Jaya, Gandipan Nantha Gopalan.
Amirudin had announced yesterday that PJD Link, also known as Petaling Jaya Dispersal, would not proceed due to dissatisfaction with the impact assessment reports.
PSM highlighted that despite the opposition from the majority of residents, Amirudin had previously indicated during a radio interview on July 14 that he was not willing to cancel the project.
Gandipan questioned why the decision was not made after receiving the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, which had already been prepared and submitted by the PJD Link company to the state government before April 5, 2023. He suggested that this decision was made for political gain during the state election.
Yesterday, youth party Muda also pledged to continue pressuring authorities to not revive PJD Link. Muda’s Bukit Gasing candidate, VKK Raja, expressed skepticism, stating that similar projects have resurfaced under different names before in political dramas.
PJD Link, previously known as the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) project, was rebranded after being cancelled in 2015 by former menteri besar Mohamed Azmin Ali. The four-lane dual expressway will start after the NKVE toll plaza on the Sprint Highway and end at the Bukit Jalil Highway Interchange, passing through state constituencies such as Bukit Gasing, Bandar Utama, and Kinrara, all of which are PH coalition strongholds.
PSM urged the state government to release the EIA, traffic impact assessment, and social impact assessment reports for public scrutiny. It argued that important development concession agreements that affect the people’s well-being should not be classified under the Official Secrets Act, as the people have a democratic right to know and access the contents of such documents.
