Hot!!! RESPONSES TO MB’S CLAIMS IN THE DEWAN NEGERI

“The issue of Kidex (Kinrara-Damansara Expressway) had dragged on for such a long time and I am glad that I was able to make a decision within a short period to cancel the project after listening to the views of parties involved.”

Seriously, YAB Mentri Besar? Did you REALLY listen to the views of the parties involved?

Do you know that Kidex supporters, the Friends of Kidex group, representing 18 NGOs and resident groups in Petaling Jaya, made a courtesy call on you to hand over a memorandum of support for the highway?

And despite your office confirming the date of 9 February 2015 to hand over the memo to the MB, you did not appear to receive it personally and left the task to your Pol Sec.

However, you were kind enough to personally meet the detractors group, the Say No To Kidex group, on 18 November 2014 to personally hand over their memo of protest to you. So did you listen to the voice of the residents?

The residents who are pressed by the daily jams in their area, especially along the PJ South area, when going to the market in the morning or fetching the kids from school is a daily struggle due to the massive traffic jams. We have read the number of newspaper reports and watched tv interviews from these residents. Did you listen to them?

Have you tried driving in these areas during peak period in Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 to clear the traffic?

Try taking a drive in the PJ CBD, try driving through Jalan Semangat during peak hours. It is almost like a car park in the middle of the road.

And this horrendous traffic situation is happening even before massive projects like PJ Sentral, the Pinnacle and the Icon are even ready.

How are you going to disperse the traffic then? Have you listened to all sides? And not just one side?

Surprisingly on 10 Feb 2015, this Friends of Kidex group received a letter from Department of Town and Country Planning Selangor (JPBD) informing receipt of a total of 899 forms (Borang Representasi Laporan Tinjauan Kajian Rancangan Struktur Negeri Selangor) showing support for KIDEX and 4,647 petitions of support for KIDEX from residents of Selangor.

This is in contrast to the 1,000 borang from the Say No To Kidex group sent to JPBD. In the letter, JPBD was providing the opportunity to the Friends of Kidex group to air their feedback in a meeting set for 10 March 2015.

Of course, the meeting for Friends of Kidex to air their feedback was called off as the MB had announced the cancellation of Kidex on February 16.

And how can the MB said he listened to the views of the parties involved when the group opposing the highway organized a rally on 25 January and this was attended by only 400 people, as reported by the Malay Mail.

Do 400 people opposing two highways – DASH and KIdex – represent the majority of the residents? We think not. If we were to divide the number equally, this will mean that only 200 were against each highway and bothered to state their views by attending the rally.

 “The credibility and ability of a leader is measured by his ability and guts to make decisions.

“A leader cannot be measured based on his inability to make decisions and tendency to take the safe path,” he said.

“Azmin reiterated that the state government was firm in taking the decision to cancel the project.

“The Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman said the decision was reached after taking into consideration the views and objections from the public and residents affected by Kidex.”

But we were informed YAB that you cancelled Kidex because it did not meet the 3 conditions stipulated by the State government.

What were the three 3 conditions? To disclose the Traffic Impact Assessment, the Preliminary Environment Impact Assessment, the Economic Impact Assessment and Benefit Analysis Reports, as well as the list of Kidex’s board of directors and the Concession Agreement.

We have verified these with the relevant bodies including the statement by the YB Minister of Works himself that all these documents have been handed to MTES on 26 January 2015 by the MHA, with the exception of the toll rates and the IRR – the Internal Rate of Return that were held back the AG.

“Earlier today, Abdul Rani had inquired on the terms of the Kidex concession agreement and queried if the cancellation would risk legal action being taken against the state government and its ability to defend the people’s rights in the issue.

“For your information, the state government is in a strong position from a legal point of view by making use of the provision under Section 18 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172) whereby any land or building must conform with the local plan.

“The state government had also decided not to include Kidex in the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) local plan and has instructed for it to be excluded from the structural planning which is being drafted.

“This clearly shows that Kidex will not be considered and had been cancelled by the state government,” said Azmin.

If that is the case, why was the KIDEX alignment incorporated into the Draft Selangor Structure Plan 2035 in December 2014?