The Selangor government has declassified details on a meeting it had with the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) and the developer of the controversial Kidex highway, after being repeatedly criticised by residents and the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) of being secretive over the RM2.42 billion project.
The Selangor government has declassified details on a meeting it had with the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) and the developer of the controversial Kidex highway, after being repeatedly criticised by residents and the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) of being secretive over the RM2.42 billion project.
The minutes of the meeting revealed that Selangor had imposed several conditions on the MHA and Kidex Sdn Bhd after agreeing in principle to the project.
This included a clause to end toll collection on the highway earlier if the company made a profit sooner than expected and that public interests be made paramount, said,” Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (pic).
In making the minutes public, Khalid said that MHA was also responsible for briefing elected representatives in the affected areas on Kidex and any other highway projects in Selangor.
Another condition was that the Federal Government ensure that the concession agreement which allowed Kidex Sdn Bhd to collect toll would not be biased towards the developer.
“The state government’s stand is that privatisation must prioritise the interests of the Malaysian public and Selangor as it involves taxpayers’ money,” said a transcript of the meeting that was distributed to the press.
The minutes had been made public in response to a Freedom of Information request from Petaling Jaya resident Chia Gek Suan that was filed on June 4.
Petaling Jaya residents had in the past accused the company of not consulting them before applying for government approval of the project, which will see a RM2.42 billion elevated highway constructed in the heart of one of the country’s densest cities.
In two meetings with the residents, Suhakam had said that the community had a right to be consulted by the developer and government agencies over the project.
Petaling Jaya residents are opposing the expressway as they claim it will worsen already clogged roads, risk the safety of schoolchildren and pollute neighbourhoods.
If approved, the elevated Kidex would cut through neighbourhoods that have been in Petaling Jaya since it was founded almost 60 years ago.
Its proposed route will cut through more than 3,700 parcels of land, including homes, factories, shops, malls and schools.
The highway is supposed to start from Bandar Kinrara and go through Petaling Jaya, Damansara Kim, Kayu Ara before ending near Bandar Utama.
Today, Khalid said Kidex was part of a six-highway network that is being planned for the Klang Valley by the MHA.
The other five are the Sungai Besi-Ulu Klang Expressway (SUKE), Serdang-Kinrara Putrajaya Expressway (SKIP), Eastern Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE), Lebuhraya Damansara-Shah Alam (DASH) and Lebuhraya Pantai Barat (LPB).
“These highways are connected to each other in an integrated network. The people of Selangor should look at the network holistically.”
If Kidex is cancelled, it would also affect other highways on the network, such as SKIP, Khalid said.
He added that the six project proposals would have to complete all necessary impact studies on the environment, traffic and social surroundings before full approval could be given. Briefings on the highways to affected residents would be the responsibility of Kidex and MHA.
Khalid also said approvals would not be granted if studies found that the highways were more detrimental than beneficial to the surrounding communities.
This is since, along with Kidex, resident groups in Kota Damansara and Ampang have organised to protest against DASH, SUKE and EKVE.
“We will assess whether the opposition is reasonable.
“If our studies show that they are negative, we won’t do it. But if the opposition is on technical issues and issues of valuation, then we will find a way to overcome it.” – June 25, 2014.