Re: Move a motion against KIDEX in the State Assembly! JUST DO IT.

Whilst it's great that Pakatan Rakyat (Peoples' Pact) lawmakers (State Assemblymen & Assemblywomen) have gone against Selangor State Chief Minister Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on the proposed KIDEX (Kinrara-Damansara Expressway), they must do more and move a motion opposing KIDEX in the State Assembly, win or lose never mind. JUST DO IT.

Pakatan Selangor lawmakers leave Khalid in the lurch over Kidex

BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA
May 24, 2014

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has been urged to re-consider his decision to approve the Kidex project. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 24, 2014.Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim now finds himself in a corner after Selangor’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers openly sided with Petaling Jaya residents against the controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) and called on the menteri besar to review his decision to approve the RM2.42 billion project.

A Selangor PKR official said the state’s handling of the Putrajaya-initiated project could cost them public support in Selangor, which has been hyped up as the coalition’s “role model” administration. 

Instead, the lawmakers want the state government to first present the details of the proposed 14.9km expressway to residents whose homes and communities it would drastically affect, before allowing the project to go ahead.

They also voiced doubts over the developer’s claims that the expressway would reduce traffic congestion and cut travel time.

PKR’s Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha said the project’s impact on such a dense area of the Klang valley seemed to outweigh the developer’s so-called claims that it would reduce traffic congestion.

DAP’s Kinrara assemblyperson Ng Sze Han, meanwhile, said that residents in his constituency seriously doubted the developers’ claims that Kidex would help them in their travel across the Klang valley.



Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo says Pakatan should live up to its election promises to be more people-friendly. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 24, 2014.Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, whose area the project would supposedly benefit, also wants Khalid to live up to Pakatan’s original election promises to be more people-friendly and to listen to local concerns.

The state government has been severely criticised for allowing the Putrajaya-approved Kidex project to go ahead. The expressway is elevated for 90% of its length and has seven interchanges and three toll plazas.

The elevated expressway will tower over homes, schools and businesses in densely populated central Petaling Jaya as it winds its way from Kinrara in the southern part of the Klang valley to Bandar Utama in the north.

Petaling Jaya residents have banded together to try and stop the project which they claim will worsen already clogged roads, risk the safety of schoolchildren and pollute their neighbourhoods.

The developer, Kidex Sdn Bhd, has claimed that once ready in four years’ time, it would reduce travel time between Damansara and Kinrara by about 25%.

The company also claimed that the journey time from Puchong to Petaling Jaya could be cut by 50%.

Haniza, whose Taman Medan constituency would be one of the areas affected, said the responsible thing to do would be to first consult the residents before approving the project.

“The state government should reconsider its approval. The process has to be right. Consent should first be sought from all those affected along the route of the highway.

“It’s unfair to them to approve it without listening to their concerns,” said Haniza, who doubts the developers’ claims that the project would reduce congestion.

“Don’t just say we have to be fair to the company. The company is there to make a profit. Not to really solve congestion,” said Haniza of Selangor PKR.

Selangor PKR deputy chief Zuraida Kamaruddin also questioned whether the state government had scrutinised the developers’ purported claims of traffic reduction against the social and environmental costs of its construction.

“The company only says Kidex will cut traffic by about 20% to 30%. Is this worth it when considering the enormous impact it will have on residents along its route?” said Zuraida, who is also Ampang MP.

“We have to relook at the project again and think of ways that will not affect the people. This project affects the state government’s performance and that of Pakatan and the party in Selangor.”

Ng, meanwhile, claimed that the highway’s proposed route does not serve the people of Kinrara and nearby Puchong.

“If you get on at Petaling Jaya you cannot go straight to Puchong. The highway ends (its southern point) at an interchange near Bukit Jalil. Once you get off, you can’t go straight to Kinrara either.

“You have to go to the technology park (in Serdang) first and then take a U-turn to go back to Kinrara,” he said.

Ng said the expressway’s inadequate exits raised questions over the developer’s purported claims that it would reduce travel time from Kinrara to Bandar Utama.

He echoed the sentiments of three other state lawmakers, also from the DAP, who had said that the state government should consider cancelling the project if it brings questionable benefits.

“If the route is a better public transport route then we should reconsider the project,” said Ng.

Gobind, also of DAP, said the people had voted for Pakatan in 2013 on the strength of its election promises to abolish tolled highways and its stand against charging more tolls.

“The people also voted for Pakatan holding on to the belief that it was different and more people-oriented,” he said.

One of the criticisms against Pakatan’s handling of the Kidex project is that it contradicts the coalition’s consistent stand against highway tolls. Once complete, the Kidex expressway will have two toll plazas.

“We do not see him (Khalid) speaking up against toll. I stand with the people and demand that Khalid abide by the promises made by Pakatan Rakyat to the people in its 2008 and 2013 campaign,” said Gobind.

Selangor PAS lawmakers declined to comment on the issue, according to  its secretary Mohd Khairuddin Othman.

Although Putrajaya has approved the project and Selangor is allowing it, the company still has to go through the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to obtain the permits and licences for it to start construction work.

Once the company submits the traffic impact assessment, environmental impact assessment and the dimensions of the highway’s design, MBPJ will then start consulting residents in Petaling Jaya by holding town hall meetings.

If residents' feedback is overwhelmingly negative, it is unclear as to whether MBPJ can go ahead and issue the permits to the company.

MBPJ councillors have refused to comment on the possibility of the project being rejected because of residents’ opposition to it.

“Let the company submit the necessary reports first for us to process the proposal,” said MBPJ councillor Lee Suet Sen. – May 24, 2014.

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http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pakatan-selangor-lawmakers-leave-khalid-in-the-lurch-over-kidex

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This is what the area around Section 14, Petaling Jaya will look like if KIDEX is built.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Uu5Bbhm0EDdvwanmH0NEv60xS61TbSu9I8WlN90QSK0/viewform