KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Four Petaling Jaya residents who filed legal action against the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) want the Selangor government to give its firm commitment to reject any future highway development in the area.
The four, who are part of the "Say No to PJD Link" movement led by lawyer T Chakaravarthi, in a statement on Wednesday (Aug 2) said that while they welcome caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari's announcement of the cancellation of the project, there are subsequent news quoting Amirudin as saying that the project may be revived if some conditions are met.
"With such an unclear caveat, we are concerned that there will be an attempt to introduce another version of the PJD Link."
They noted that in the past, there was a proposal for the Kinrara Damansara Expressway (Kidex), only for it to be cancelled, and then the PJD Link was mooted.
They said residents in Petaling Jaya would not want to experience such an episode again.
"Now that it is clear that the overwhelming majority do not wish for such a highway [to] be built, both the federal and state governments should reject any similar proposals from the outset, and not grant approvals (be it conditional or otherwise), which would unnecessarily drag the community through such an ordeal again," they added.
They said that rumours of the development of a mega highway being imminent had caused anxiety and restlessness among the community, resulting in protests and campaigns in the past four years to oppose it.
The four also requested for the government to declassify the PJD Link concession agreement, and also provide the public with the environment impact assessment, transport impact assessment and social impact assessment, which they had requested in their judicial review application.
They said that if their demands are not met within a week, they would assume that there is no serious commitment by the Selangor government to reject future proposals for a mega highway similar to Kidex or the PJD Link, and that there is no intention by the authorities to provide them with the documents in their judicial review application.
The four residents also sent a letter via their lawyer at Messrs Lim Wei Jiet Advocates and Solicitors to the Attorney General's Chambers, requesting for the documents within seven days, and if not provided, they will continue with the judicial review application.
Two days ago, lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, when contacted, said the four residents would adopt a wait-and-see approach over Amirudin's announcement of the cancellation of the PJD Link.