The Say No To Dash (SNTD) Group today submitted another Freedom of Information (FOI) application to the Selangor government asking for information on the conditional approval of the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash).

The FOI application is its second application after the first, filed in October last year, yielded no response from the state government.

 

Among the information sought include Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Selangor's (MTES) meeting minutes on Dash highway in April 2012, the conditions met by Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) prior to getting approval from MTES, and the conditions set by MTES to qualify for final approval.

 

"We would like to remind the state government that by failing to respond, they have breached Section 7(1) of the (FOI) Enactment. 

 

"If this is a government that is ruled by the law, we strongly urge that it abides by the requirements of this Enactment," said SNTD spokesperson Alvin Chin.         

 

Chin said the group was not given any formal response from the state government since the Prolintas was given final approval for Dash by the federal government on Jan 25. 

  

"The fact that a decision can be made on Kidex swiftly and utter silence on Dash shows that the Selangor government has been biased and unjust to its people and hypocritical to their own ‘people first’ policy,” Chin said.

He was referring to the much opposed Kinrara Damansara Expressway (Kidex), which Selangor cancelled after the concessionaire failed to meet pre-condition deadline.

Too close to residents

 

The group today met with the Selangor State Town & Country Planning Department (JPBD) to discuss its submitted objection to the Selangor Plan 2035 Exploratory Report.

 

Included in the report is the Dash, together with five other proposed highways in the Klang Valley.

 

The group objected to the Damansara segment of the highway, specifically the section through Damansara Perdana.

 

Among reasons given to the objection include the conditions to the approval of the concession agreement which have not been met, flaws in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) and the failure to consult residents who will be affected by the highway. 

 

The Dash was proposed in 2012 and acts as a link for Puncak Perdana, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Jalan Sungai Buloh, Rubber Research Institute Malaysia, Kota Damansara, Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara. 

 

The expressway will end at the Penchala interchange, linking it to Damansara-Puchong and Sprint Expressways.  

 

Petaling Jaya residents, however, oppose it for running too close to residential areas.

CHAI JIAN MEI is a trainee reporter with Malaysiakini .