KUALA LUMPUR (July 31): The Selangor state government has rejected the application for the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) project, said its caretaker Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
In a statement on Monday (July 31), Amirudin said the decision was made as the administration is “not satisfied with the plans proposed”, especially in relation to its social impact on Petaling Jaya residents.
According to Amirudin, the project’s approval at the federal level is conditional upon meeting all the requirements set by the Selangor state government.
He referred to a concession agreement signed on April 5, 2022, between the project’s developer and the federal government at that time, which was led by a coalition between Barisan Nasional (BN) — now partners with Pakatan Harapan (PH) — and the current federal opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN).
The agreement is conditional upon the developer undertaking in full the assessment on environmental, social and traffic impact before the project can be activated, Amirudin said.
The proposed 25.4km elevated highway which cuts through Petaling Jaya has been equated to the now-defunct Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex).
Kidex was rejected in 2015 by the Pakatan Rakyat state government, reportedly due to the developer’s failure to submit traffic, social and environmental impact assessments by the stipulated deadline.
“The principle of this administration is for the development in Selangor to achieve a balance between sustainability [and] economic development, and to not be detrimental to the people of Selangor,” said Amirudin.
“In relation to the impact assessment report that was provided, especially from the perspective of the social impact report, this administration is not satisfied with the plans proposed as it did not meet the requirements set by the state government,” he added.
According to Amirudin, the proposed PJD Link has received approval in principle from the federal cabinet on Nov 12, 2017. The proposal was brought to the Selangor state economic action council on Sept 3, 2020. The state council then allowed for studies to be done involving Petaling Jaya residents.
Subsequently, the proposal was presented to the federal cabinet on Nov 12, 2021, and its approval is conditional on the green light from the Selangor state.
The announcement comes as Selangor and five other states — Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu — head for the state election on Aug 12.
Selangor, held by the PH coalition in its various forms since 2008, is seen as ground zero with top leaders of PN and the unity government — including the unity government’s friendlies from East Malaysia — converging on nomination day on Saturday (July 29).
The urbanised Petaling Jaya parliamentary constituency, which lists 196,568 voters, has three state seats, namely Seri Setia, Taman Medan and Bukit Gasing — all of which are strongholds of PH.
However, in the 15th general election in November 2022, both PH and BN, which are joining hands this August, have seen their votes chipped away by opposition PN, particularly in Taman Medan where an estimated 68% of its voter base are Malay.
The PJD Link’s concession holder, PJD Link (M) Sdn Bhd, has previously secured RM922 million in funding on June 6 to develop the project, which will see MCC Overseas (M) Sdn Bhd (MCC Malaysia) as the project contractor.
Meanwhile, PJD Link (M) has also proposed a reverse takeover of Practice Note 17 company Scomi Energy Services Bhd. The due diligence is ongoing and expected to be completed by Sept 15. At the time of writing, shares of Scomi Energy traded unchanged at half a sen — its lowest — valuing the company at RM2.34 million.