ZAHID IBRAHIM ON THE KiDEX HIGHWAY

Dato' Mohd. Zaid Ibrahim writes about the KiDEX Highway in his blog ZaidGeist.

No stranger to controversy, Zaid' career in politics took him through a ministerial position in the Barisan Nasional government and then a senior position in the opposition PKR (People's Justice Party) before he fell out with them too.

Today, Zaid is part of what is often referred to as the "Third Force" or "Third Position" in Malaysian politics between the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) on the one hand and Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) on the other.

I too am of a "Third Position", though the problem is that this so called "Third Force" is a very fragmented cohort of randomly drifting individuals with no coherent ideology, organisation, leadership, purpose and direction.

In it we have people like Zaid, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, relatively unknown individuals like myself, some of my friends and acquaintances and others of diverse and even antagonistic political, social and economic ideologies.

However hopefully, we  of various Third Positions can unite around one objective - I.E. to stop KiDEX

No2KiDEX

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January 19, 2015 Zaid Blog

The KIDEX Highway

I write this piece in the hope that many PJ residents and the people of Selangor will continue to object to the construction of yet another elevated highway, the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway or KIDEX Skyway in Petaling Jaya.

Its proposed route of around 15 kilometres stretches from NKVE Damansara (in front of my house in Tropicana) through Jalan Damansara, Jalan Harapan, Jalan Semangat, Jalan Barat, Jalan Utara and Jalan Penchala to PJ Selatan and Puchong. The expressway will run through the densely populated areas of PJ, including PJ New Town, and will encroach on 3,874 plots in a 100-metre corridor on each side of the Expressway. KIDEX’s promoters say the project is “Serving the Traffic Needs of the Future”.

This project was not planned for the people’s benefit. It’s not in the PJ Local Structure Plan, which it should be if the people’s views had been taken into account. It’s not in in the country’s Highway Master Plan either, and this document involves the Highway Planning Unit and the Malaysian Highway Authority.

The idea of having another toll project came from a private company. It was conceived by people as a way of making a few billion Ringgit from the poor rakyat, by giving them something they don’t need but are obligated by law to pay for. The Highway Authority gave this concession because the project’s promoters are well-connected and include UMNO lawyers and those close to the Works Ministry. It has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with serving the traffic needs of the people in PJ and Selangor.

The company selected this route purely on the basis that it would serve as a bypass for the already congested Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong or LDP Highway. They also decided to tap into some of the inter-urban traffic from NKVE and channel it to PJ. This means long-distance traffic (totaling in excess of 48,000 vehicles daily), which has nothing to do with PJ in the first place, will end up passing through its centre.

In short, this project will bring more traffic and congestion to PJ, not less as its promoters claim. If this project is approved many schools, hospitals, offices, places of worship and other landed properties will end up right next to it. PJ will be more polluted, roads at ground level will become more congested and our Petaling Jaya will never be the same again.

Given that all these factors are plain for everyone to see, why is this project still going strong? Is the new Selangor Menteri Besar still thinking of approving it? Why is the MB, who once said that there will be no more tolled roads under the Pakatan Rakyat, still studying the matter? Why is there no urgency to cancel the project and reassure the people that their interests come first?

The answer, perhaps, is in the nature of politics in Malaysia. Businessmen make money—big money—and some people tell me that this concession over 48 years will generate RM60 billion for the people behind it. It must be difficult for politicians to reject proposals from businessmen when the projects promise to bring in such big profits.

I hope PJ’s residents and the people of Selangor will come to Dataran PJ (in front of Amcorp Mall) at 10am this Sunday, 25 January, to show the businessmen and the politicians that they won’t be pushed around. This gathering is aboveboard and the police permit has already been approved. The people of PJ must make their stand against this moneymaking venture, and let the authorities know that there will be political consequences if the project is approved.


http://www.zaid.my/uncategorized/the-kidex-highway/

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Following below are some posters opposing KiDEX which explain what the construction of KiDEX will do to the Petaling Jaya skyline. The scenes shown in these posters are of Jalan Semangat, which runs past Section 14, Petaling Jaya, as it is now, and an artist's impression of how it will look once KiDEX is built.






Here is the SAY NO TO KIDEX Facebook page.


My own No2KIDEX blog is independent of the Say No To KiDEX group, though I am involved with the group and we had several dialogue sessions with Bukit Gasing State Assemblyman, The Honourable Rajiv Rishyakaran over coffee, where we discussed several of our concerns over matters such a rubbish collection, KiDEX, the Petaling Jaya North Sewer project, the One Way Loop and so forth in Petaling Jaya.

Thank you Rajiv for meeting us over our concerns, and for conscienciously performing your duty to your constituents who elected you.

Yours truly

No2KIDEX

RESIDENTS TO PROTEST KIDEX AND DASH ELEVATED HIGHWAYS ON 25th JANUARY 2015

Are we residents of Petaling Jaya mere "useful idiots" to provide Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) politicians with the votes they need to get into power only to have them ignore our concerns?

Just look at the massive construction projects going on in Petaling Jaya along Jalan Utara and across from the Petaling Jaya New Town Centre. What rubbish are they talking about making Petaling Jaya a "liveable city" when it is being turned into a concrete jungle despite the Pakatan Rakyat having been in control of the Selangor State government for six years now.

We clearly know your true colours now.

No2KiDEX


Anti-highway groups plan rally to gather support


BY MELATI A JALIL

Published: 18 January 2015 12:48 PM

Two anti-highway pressure groups have joined forces to hold a rally next Sunday to express disappointment over what they said was the failure of the Selangor and federal governments to listen to their grouses. 

Say No to Kidex (SNTK) and Say No to DASH (SNTD) said they expect a good turnout after several residents associations, churches and mosques confirmed their participation.

The rally will be held at Dataran Petaling Jaya, from 10am to noon.

"We are doing this because we have met with the Selangor menteri besar and works minister. We have submitted a lot of letters, reports, documents, scientific evidence... but they have yet to reply and address the concerns," said SNTK's spokesman Mak Khuin Weng today.

"They continue to pass the buck on who is responsible approving and cancelling the project... They do not want to address the issues," he said.

Mak (pic, right) said among the objectives of the rally was to highlight how the government had failed to address their grouses.

"This is kind of our last resort, because despite all our engagements, doing everything through legal means, we are not getting any response on the status of these projects."

He said they had received a permit from the police to hold the rally and had even rented the venue for the occassion.

"We are doing this rally legally, we have rented the premises and got police permit for it.

"If Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional still want to continue with the projects after this (rally), then they have to answer to the voters," he said.

He hoped the public would join the rally to show their support and make their stand known.

"I think the government too should make a stand and set a precedent that no elevated highway should run so closely to any residential areas. If this can happen, what is it going to say in future?" asked SNTD spokesman Michelle Wong.

"This is the message we want to tell, if this can happen to us, it can happen to anyone."

According to the groups, Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, a non-profit group, had provided them a report that stated Kidex and the highway in general poses a health risk to children and residents living within 500 metres from the highways.

Kidex, they claimed, would be located 5 metres from two schools, 7 metres from Masjid Tun Abdul Aziz in Section 14, Petaling Jaya, 10 metres from residential homes and 20 metres from the Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital.

Meanwhile, DASH would be located about 11 metres from residential homes and 10 metres from a church, and would cut through thousands of residential houses within 500 metres of gap. – January 18, 2015.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/anti-highway-groups-plan-rally-to-gather-support


Pakatan, it’s time to start looking at your own backyard – Joe Rakyat
Published: 18 January 2015 5:39 PM


"We are doing this because we have met with the Selangor menteri besar... We have submitted a lot of letters, reports, documents... but they have yet to reply and address the concerns," – Mak Khuin Weng, Say No To Kidex (SNTK).

Pakatan Rakyat – should Selangor voters be concerned about the above? Is this the beginning of the making of another Barisan Nasional (BN) style of governance – promises galore but not really intent on keeping them? Didn’t your Buku Jingga state, “No highway, no tolls”?

It is nice to see a photo of Selangor MB Mohamed Azmin Ali helping to clean up the house of a grateful-someone badly affected by the flood.

It is also nice to see Tony Pua raise the issue of 1MDB incessantly, or for Rafizi Ramli to go after the NFC/GST or for Kula Segaran to demand answers on custodial deaths, or for Lim Kit Siang to harp on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lack of leadership.

But why is that no one seems to have the time nor presence of mind, to adequately reply SNTK’s concern?

Why are we reading statements such as this – "they continue to pass the buck on who is responsible approving and cancelling the project... They do not want to address the issues”?

Has Pakatan too mastered the art of passing the buck?

I thought we’d only be reading such statements when it came to BN’s response; not from the likes of Pakatan politicians who, day and night, are on BN’s throat in matters of governance.

One of the gripes people have with Pakatan politicians is that, they are good at protesting the “big” issues. When it comes to GST/NFC/1MDB, or any gaffe by BN policy makers, Pakatan chaps are immediately out of the blocks in protest mode.

But when it comes to governance on local matters, they seem to be no different from BN – almost invisible and just as ineffective.

And that might tell us why Kajang still has no plans for traffic management, in spite of the promise made in the last by-election.

And I need not remind everyone of the continued frustration over Petaling Jaya New Town’s one-way loop – three months on, but signage and traffic diversion remains haphazard.

We cannot be rid of the failure of past people in charge. But we can avoid their mistakes. And one of the mistakes that Pakatan can avoid is that of not fulfilling electoral promises.

Pakatan Selangor – how much longer are you going to expect people’s support of you, because of their dislike for BN, instead of your actual performance?

If today you could renege on your general election manifesto of no more tolled roads, then how many more electoral promises can we expect you guys to break? “Harapan Buku Jingga sudah mula pudar”?

MPs and assemblymen have to realise that they represent the people who elected them to office; and that is above even their own personal or party convictions. Are they prepared to represent that, or are they more interested in the perks and the position?

The rakyat want more than an MB/MP/assemblymen who gives his or her contact number to deal with uncollected rubbish; they want to see an office bearer who keeps electoral promises – and listens to constituents’ gripes.

Remember, remember, what it was that booted BN out of Selangor. Do not assume voters will still maintain their affections come next general election. – January 18, 2015.

* Joe Rakyat reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/pakatan-its-time-to-start-looking-at-your-own-backyard-joe-rakyat


DASH highway too close for comfort, say residents BY MOHD FARHAN DARWIS

Published: 17 December 2014 9:55 AM


The proposed Damansara-Shah Alam expressway (DASH) is too close to the proximity of residential homes, with some sections barely 30 metres away, said a group comprising concerned residents.

Say No To DASH (SNTD) spokesperson Michelle Wong said this was among some of the flaws the group found in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for DASH.

She said along one of the stretches, the EIA failed to recognise the consequences of building a 19-metre elevated highway which is only about 11.2 metres and 14 metres from two high density condominium blocks respectively.

"Even (Selangor) Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali was shocked by this," she said after meeting Azmin to discuss about the project at his office in Shah Alam yesterday.

Wong said the group was only against the building of the stretch in Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara as both areas were densely populated and undergoing rapid development.

"We can't accept the highway going through Damansara Perdana. Our stand is clear that no highway should cut through residential areas. We, however, agree that it should go through Shah Alam as residents there have no other alternative routes," she said.

"Elevated highway should not go through densely populated residential areas," said Wong.

She also claimed Damansara Perdana residents were not consulted in the impact study done by the developer, Prolintas Bhd.

All the 10 residents' groups and condominium management bodies told us they were not consulted prior to the project," she said.

Overall, she said only 165 residents, representing three sections of the highway, were interviewed which she said did not represent the total number of people affected by the project.

"That is why we said there were some flaws in the EIA report," she said.

Wong also pointed out the need for a study on air quality to be conducted at Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana to determine the impact of vehicle emissions on the health of residents, especially children with breathing difficulties and asthma.

DASH, costing about RM4 billion, will be a 20.1 km, three-lane, dual carriageway expressway. Among the proposed route for it are Shah Alam's Puncak Perdana U10, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Rubber Research Institute Malaysia, Kota Damansara, Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana.

It will then link users to Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) and Sprint highways.

When asked about Azmin's reaction during the meeting, Wong said the MB gave a positive response and assured that he would meet with Prolintas Bhd and the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) over the matter.

"He gave us a positive response, saying it it doesn't make sense especially in Damansara Perdana area which has a lot of shoplots,"

Wong said Azmin will demand that a new EIA be prepared and would issue a statement soon on the state government’s structural plan for 2035 which had included DASH, Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) and other highways. – December 17, 2014.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dash-highway-too-close-for-comfort-say-residents







Following below are some posters opposing KiDEX which explain what the construction of KiDEX will do to the Petaling Jaya skyline. The scenes shown in these posters are of Jalan Semangat, which runs past Section 14, Petaling Jaya, as it is now, and an artist's impression of how it will look once KiDEX is built.






Here is the SAY NO TO KIDEX Facebook page.


My own No2KIDEX blog is independent of the Say No To KiDEX group, though I am involved with the group and yesterday morning (Sarurday 22nd of November, 2014), we had a dialogue with Bukit Gasing State Assemblyman, The Honourable Rajiv Rishyakaran over coffee, where we discussed several of our concerns over matters such a rubbish collection, KiDEX, the Petaling Jaya North Sewer project, the One Way Loop and so forth in Petaling Jaya.

Thank you Rajiv for meeting us over our concerns, and for conscienciously performing your duty to your constituents who elected you.

Yours truly

No2KIDEX

WHEN YOU CANNOT SOLVE ORGANISATIONAL AND PEOPLE PROBLEMS THROW A MOBILE APP AT THEM

My neighbours and I have been complaining to the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and even the councillors over several issues in Petaling Jaya, such as the massive and prolonged disruption and damage caused by the laying of the Petaling Jaya North Sewer by contractor Mangkubumi, potholes, the unevenness and bumpiness of roads but the councillors seem almost paralysed by something more powerful than them, which could be the intransigence or inertia lower down their organisation.

Whilst the Petaling Jaya North Sewer is a project of the Federal Government which is under the Barisan Nasional, so the Selangor state government and MBPJ are limited in what they can do, I cannot accept that as an excuse to not being able to do more about it, especially when the works result in damage to surrounding houses and when land matters are a state jurisdiction.

As for the potholes, bumpy roads and so forth, this is something which the MBPJ can do much more about about.


For example my fellow Petaling Jaya resident David is really exasperated after having banged his head against the MBPJ wall for so long without results.

On Mon, 2015-01-05 at 01:41 +0800, David wrote:

Charles,

All those in this mailing list except for MB Azmin Ali and YB Ean Yong would have had received my photo story which targeted the way Maxis has NO RESPECT for road conditions and laughed at my captions on my DIG-I CAN photos. They would also have had been privy to my berating MBPJ for the holey Jalan Timur and Jalan Gasing. More recently, I brought to their attention the metal stumps which stick out of roads and curbs when the original poles are removed. All of us reading this must surely be aware of how atrocious I find the conditions around the old-Sentosa redevelopment project.

And now, to add to the list, I am just making a passing mention of the pathetic attitude of MBPJ and the developer of the project along Jalan 19/1 opposite the junction of the road coming down from Sea Park.

Yes, Charles, there is not very much that these people don't know about.

But do they care? Do they know their job?

I guess if the print media were to promise them a photo of attendance at some site visits, somebody will speak up.

But will there be action?

No, Charles, our rate payers have been systematically and maliciously conditioned to religiously believe that our elected and appointed representatives are meant to be holding brooms and tearing down posters and patching potholes and posing for media photographers.

And our elected and appointed representatives are playing to the tune. they have to. For political points. For election points.

For all my ranting, plus the hell fire and brimstone rained on our reps by other rate payers, I would have had expected our reps to wisen up. I would have expected them to drop their tools for the streets but take their flame thrower to MBPJ. I would have expected them to be managing people - to send down the lightning and thunder on people like the Mayor (thank God we do not have the last one with us now) and her full time employee-team in MBPJ.

Woe behold, it seems to me that there is a major and critical communication gap or fear in this respect.

Charles, half a century of experience, even though it may have been Barisan controlled for much of the time, has taught me to be very pessimistic about a positive change in the system.

So do brace yourself for more bumpy rides, what with more lands in our-once-upon-a-time-sustainable-city being disintegrated by relentless, irrational and irresponsible redevelopment.

DAVID

David had replied to my earlier e-mail to the MBPJ councillors, the Selangor state Chief Minister and the Selangor exco for local government, also posted on my Selangor Scheiss blog.

Over the years, such potholes have contributed to greater wear and tear on my car's suspension, thus requiring more frequent repair.

It was like this when the Barisan Nasional controlled the Selangor State Assembly and remains the same, if not actually worse in the nearly seven years Selangor has been under Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) rule. Basically, the song remains the same, to paraphrase that Led Zeppelin song.

Pot Holes and Bumpy Roads in Petaling Jaya

Initiatives like this MyCleanCity app which relies on information technology, hoping to improve the quality of service of organisations without first dealing with inherent problems within the organisations is one of the very reasons why I go by the psuedonym "IT.Scheiss" because this is exactly what this is - IT scheiss (shit in German).

This is like putting more computers with educational software into schools expecting that they will reverse the decline in our education system, rather than address the root causes of the problem within the education system itself.

"C4 director Cynthia Gabriel said the objective of the app was not so much about pot holes, or getting illegal dumping resolved but about improving accountability in local government."

I see. so down to earth matters that immediately concern us residents are "not the objective of the app" but more highfalutin stuff about "accountability in local government".

“It’s about knowing as ratepayers, to get our urban services sorted out.

“The point is for us to start sharing our own problems online using technology, smartphones, to start filing complaints via this app and website.”

This plebeian with an A in English in my Malaysian Certificate of Education (O Levels) does not quite get that highfalutin stuff Cynthia is going on about, though I can somewhat make out that that it is about everything except getting practical action and actual results.

Look! If a letter, telephone call, e-mail or fax will not work to get action, believe me - a mobile app will not either.

Dealing with such matters needs a big stick to whip civil servants into compliance or purge the recalcitrant ones from the organisation, not some mobile app, web portal, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp group or whatever.

"Prayut gives civil servants three months to show results"

"Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said he would give civil servants three months to deliver work results as per government policy and those found to be slacking would be "dealt with".

Now that is the kind of stand which gets results.

More on Thailand's The Nation newspaper

Meanwhile, columnist R. Nadeswaran of The Sun criticised the misplaced priorities and false expectations with regards this MyCleanCity app, as reported by The Malaysian Insider in the article below.

IT.Scheiss

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MyCleanCity app will only work if councils embrace change, says columnist

The use of mobile apps to push forward public complaints to local councils will not work if the mindset of council leaders remains unchanged, theSun columnist R. Nadeswaran told a forum last night.

Nadeswaran, known for his column “Citizen Nades” in the local daily, hailed the effort by Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) in launching the MyCleanCity app but stressed that there was a need for a mindset change at the leadership level to ensure that changes were embraced.

“Unless there is mindset change, nothing is going to happen,” he said, as one of the speakers at the forum “Terrain-ing transparency and advancing accountability in local government” in Petaling Jaya last night.

One of the examples, he said was in 2006, when the Sultan of Selangor called Petaling Jaya, one of Selangor’s oldest city, “billboard city”, but the rebuke was ignored by the council.

“The problem is that nobody cared. No one is scared, they are not afraid of losing their jobs and they don’t care if you take disciplinary action against them.”

Thus, Nadeswaran said, in order for things to work, the mindset change must come from the leadership level of the council itself, not from C4 or the people.

Earlier, Selangor exco for local government, Ean Yong Hian Wah (pic) launched the MyCleanCity app, a pilot project in Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) that would function as a tool to help local councils to respond more swiftly as well as be more transparent and accountable.

The smartphone and web-based app allows Petaling Jaya residents to snap photos, tag locations and upload pictures into a virtual noticeboard.

Another speaker, Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim said it was not really about the app but the process of how to open up spaces of accountability and transparency at the local government level.

“For democracy to work, it’s really about the people and the participation, the system can be perfect, but without the people having access to decision-making, it is pointless,” he said during his presentation of BetterPenang app, which allows the public to lodge complaints to local council in three simple steps – snap, tag and post.

He also gave the example of Waze, GPS-based geographical navigation application involving the largest community-based traffic report, with live updates on what’s happening on the roads.

“Waze is crowd-source content, crowd source content is participation, and participation is democracy in a way, to simply put it.”

He added that the MyCleanCity app should be seen as alternative and in addition to what the council had been doing.

All Petaling Jaya Residents Association (APAC) president Johan Tung Abdullah said MBPJ and its politically appointed councillors had not lived up to their promises.

“Many see it as their failure to deliver transparency, proper enforcement of existing rules, and accountability,” he said, raising issues such as illegal advertisements by loan sharks and below par road maintenance works.

“Those in power must adopt more proactive measures to deliver more transparency and accountability,” Johan said, highlighting the importance of local council elections, seat allocations to professionals and six-month assessments on councillors.

“All councillors must be made to attend courses on the roles and duties of city councillors as well as to possess working knowledge of the Local Government Act.

“Those voted into power must make the difference for positive changes.”

C4 director Cynthia Gabriel said the objective of the app was not so much about pot holes, or getting illegal dumping resolved but about improving accountability in local government.

“It’s about knowing as ratepayers, to get our urban services sorted out.

“The point is for us to start sharing our own problems online using technology, smartphones, to start filing complaints via this app and website.”

MBPJ officer Lee Lih Shyan who was present as speaker said C4 has set up a good platform on building the app and he believed both MBPJ and residents could benefit from it.

Residents who attended the forum said it was also vital to address policy issues to avoid the app from being neglected. – January 10, 2015.

Original article by The Malaysian Insider