After being accused of bulldozing through its controversial Kidex highway project, the developer said it is willing to meet Petaling Jaya (PJ) residents and the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).
After being accused of bulldozing through its controversial Kidex highway project, the developer said it is willing to meet Petaling Jaya (PJ) residents and the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).
Kidex Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Dr Shaharizuan Shafiei said they would meet with them once approval has been granted by the relevant authorities.
“We will work with the Petaling Jaya City Council to organise this session. What is most important to Kidex is the fact that we have followed the rule of law and abided with regulatory requirements set by the authorities.
“As this is an infrastructure project, we are governed by strict requirements set by the authorities,” Shaharizuan said in the a brief statement.
PJ 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.
The company had tried to hold a briefing with PJ residents on May 16 but it degenerated into a shouting match between officials and locals over the legality of the gathering.
Kidex officials had mistakenly referred to the gathering as a “town hall meeting”, which angered residents. By law, a town hall meeting can only be organised by state government and local council officials.
PJ 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 PJ since it was founded almost 60 years ago.
Its proposed route would cut through more than 3,700 parcels of land, including homes, factories, shops, shopping 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.
Shaharizuan again stressed that the project would benefit the Klang valley.
“We would also like to reiterate that Kidex is not a project in isolation and is part of the Federal and State initiative to manage the growing stress of vehicles in Petaling Jaya and the Klang Valley with emphasis on local roads which will have a direct benefit to the urban population.”
In a June 19 visit, Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam said it will request a meeting with Kidex over concerns about the project.
Nayagam also said it was the duty of the government to declassify and make public all documents related to the expressway so that residents can study the impact of the project. – June 24, 2014.