Petaling Jaya residents have issued a one-week ultimatum against the Federal and Selangor government to fulfil three demands over the controversial Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) project, including a declaration that no similar proposed highways would be approved in Petaling Jaya ever again.
In a statement by the Say No To PJD Link Movement and the four Petaling Jaya residents who are respondents of the lawsuit, today (Aug 2), the group has issued a call for three demands to be fulfilled within seven days or else their lawsuit against the Selangor government and federal government to get documents on the PJD Link will continue.
The group expressed appreciation towards caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari’s July 31 announcement of Selangor’s cancellation of the PJD Link project, but expressed concern over Amirudin’s suggestion on the same day that the project could be revived if certain requirements are met.
“There is however no elaboration on what these ‘requirements’ are. With such an unclear caveat, we are concerned that there will be another attempt to introduce another similar version of the PJD Link soon,” they said.
They listed three demands to the federal government and Selangor state government, including to give a firm commitment to not entertain any similar proposed highway projects in Petaling Jaya in the future.
The PJ residents claimed that the previously proposed Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) project which was cancelled in 2015 and the PJD Link project which was cancelled on Monday indicates a tendency by developers to repackage and rebrand substantially similar highways.
“Whilst we recognise that Governments cannot categorically reject all infrastructure proposals for Petaling Jaya (and other parts of Klang Valley), they can give a commitment that any highway proposals which are similar in terms of alignment with Kidex and PJD Link ought to be rejected from the outset,” they said.
The PJ residents said the federal government had in November 2017 given approval in principle for the PJD Link highway subject to several undisclosed conditions, while the Selangor government in September 2020 gave a policy approval for the project subject to several undisclosed conditions, which was followed by the developer on signing a concession agreement — now under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 — with the federal government on April 5, 2022.
“All of these developments, which gave an impression that a mega highway was imminent, had triggered much anxiety and restlessness among the community. We have had no choice but to organise protests, surveys, town halls and campaigns for the past four years to oppose the idea of the project, which has taken up substantial time, money and effort.
“The residents of Petaling Jaya do not wish to experience such an episode again. Now that it is clear that the overwhelming majority of residents do not wish for such a highway to be built, both the Federal & State Governments should reject any similar proposals from the outset and not grant any ‘approvals’ (be it conditional or otherwise), which would unnecessarily drag the community through such an ordeal again,” they said.
As for the second demand, the PJ residents want an immediate declassification of the PJD Link highway developer’s April 2022 concession agreement which is now currently an “official secret” under the OSA, pushing for this document to be made public.
“Let this be clear: highway projects have nothing to do with national security, and should never be hidden from the public under the OSA. There must be full transparency on the terms agreed to by the developer and government because it invariably involves taxpayers’ money and will impact the public,” the residents said.
The residents’ third demand is for the immediate public disclosure of the reports related to the PJD Link project — Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) — and for the Selangor state government’s requirements for the greenlight of a highway in Petaling Jaya to be disclosed.
“The residents of Petaling Jaya deserve to know the contents of the EIA, TIA & SIA. If these reports indicate a negative implication of a mega highway like PJD Link on the environment, traffic and social lives of residents, then it is an important resource for us to assess any similar highway proposals in the same vicinity which may arise in the future,” they said.
“We also deserve to know the “requirements” set forth by the State Government to approve a highway project in Petaling Jaya, which the Selangor Chief Minister is referring to in news reports. What conditions and thresholds is he referring to? We need to know what yardsticks are used by the State Government, and assess whether they adequately protect public and environmental interests,” they added.
The PJ residents and the movement against PJD Link project said that if the three demands are not fulfilled by the federal government and Selangor government within one week from today, they will assume “there is no serious commitment to the residents of Petaling Jaya that a mega highway in the future similar to KIDEX and PJD Link would be rejected”.
The PJ residents also said they will assume that there is no intention to make those documents available to the public and will continue with their court bid to get those documents in the public interest, if the three demands are not complied with in a week.
Separately, the four residents today issued a letter via their lawyer Lim Wei Jiet to the government lawyers representing the Malaysian government, Selangor government and two others being sued, referring to Amirudin’s announcement that the Selangor government has rejected the PJD Link project.
In the letter, the four residents cited the announcement and the intention to save the court’s time, by asking for the Malaysian and Selangor authorities to provide the EIA, SIA and TIA reports on the PJD Link within seven days of this letter.
The four residents also asked to be provided with the April 5, 2022 concession agreement on the PJD Link project within seven days of the letter
According to Malay Mail, Lim said he has instructions to proceed with the four residents’ lawsuit via judicial review, if the government fails or refuses to agree to provide those documents. Lim confirmed that the letter has been served on the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Selangor state legal adviser’s office.
On June 7, four PJ residents — T Chkaravarthi, Kum Koo Ji, S. Saktiseelan and Loke Yin Pong — filed a lawsuit via a judicial review application in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, naming the four respondents as Director General of the Department of Town and Country Planning, the Selangor State Director of the Department of Town and Country Planning, the Selangor state government and the Malaysian government.
The residents are seeking a court order for the government to provide copies of six documents, namely the SIA, EIA, TIA, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Minutes, Detailed Design of the PJD Link Alignment and the April 5, 2022 concession agreement. For lawsuits filed through judicial review applications, leave or permission must be obtained first from the court before the lawsuit can be heard.
The High Court on July 10 granted leave for the lawsuit to be heard, but a hearing date for the case has yet to be scheduled. Lim said the judicial review matter will come up for case management at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on October 5.
