The Say No to Dash (SNTD) group today announced a public rally to protest the Damansara Shah Alam Expressway (Dash) from going through Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana.

The rally will be held on March 20 (Sunday) at Metropolitan Square in Damansara Perdana, from 9am to 11am. This will be the third rally against Dash. The first was in April 2012 while the second was a joint rally with opponents of the Kidex highway in January 2015.

The rally is organised entirely by local residents who are not partisan with any political party. This initiative by the public is a testament of the disappointment residents have with both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat/Pakatan Harapan for failing to take heed of public feedback.

The residents are especially disappointed with the local state elected representative, Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong for the promises she made and subsequently backtracked on.

Elizabeth Wong had promised in April 2012 to stop the highway project. She had publicly repeated her commitment and assured residents that Dash was not approved in June 2014. In Jan 2016 however, her comments were no longer about the non-approval of Dash but on the ongoing negotiations to work out a new alignment for the highway.

On March 2 this year, a news report in The Edge stated that the Selangor government had agreed to the purchase of land belonging to Signature International Bhd for RM79.95 mil for the purpose of the highway project.

Residents had texted Elizabeth Wong to explain this development but there had been no response. She has been invited to the rally to explain herself and that of the Dash project’s status.

The rally organising committee has already informed the police of the upcoming rally.