'We will see first', residents react to S'gor govt scrapping PJD Link

The residents behind a legal action linked to the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) highway are adopting a wait-and-see stance over the Selangor government’s announcement over scrapping the controversial project.

The PJ residents’ counsel Lim Wei Jiet gave this response over today’s announcement by state caretaker menteri besar Amirudin Shari that the Selangor government has decided to scrap the proposed highway.

“We will see first whether the decision is carried through.

“But this is a collective win and credit goes to residents and civil society, who have spoken up tirelessly against the PJD Link since many years ago,” Lim told Malaysiakini when asked whether his clients would consider withdrawing the legal action following the announcement.

On July 10, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted leave for the residents to commence judicial review over the authorities’ alleged refusal to hand over the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and other documents linked to the divisive proposed highway.

With leave given, the civil court would later set a separate date to hear parties’ oral submissions over the merits of the judicial review.

Besides EIA, the residents also seek its Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) reports, as well as the project’s concession agreement, which is classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972.

Earlier on June 7, four Petaling Jaya residents filed legal action over the alleged refusal by the authorities to abide by a seven-day ultimatum to hand over the project’s documents.

The present judicial review targets four respondents - the Town and Country Planning Department (PlanMalaysia) director-general, the director of PlanMalaysia Selangor, the Selangor state government, and the federal government.

In-depth information

According to a copy of the affidavit in support of the legal action, Petaling Jaya resident T Chakaravarthi contended they were forced to resort to the judicial review leave application as the authorities failed to respond to the ultimatum.

Chakaravarthi contended that as the residents would be directly and indirectly affected by the PJD Link project, they have a right to access the documents in order to obtain comprehensive and in-depth information on the scope, impact, and related terms of the project.

The Petaling Jaya resident also contended, among others, they need to access the SIA report to ascertain the impact of the PJD Link project on the local community and their activities, taking into account factors such as whether the project was accepted by the community.

Chakaravarthi claimed they also need to access the project’s concession agreement to allow residents and the general public to give their input on whether the terms are one-sided to the company involved in it, or whether the terms do not benefit the local community or environment.

Lack of transparency

The group previously launched an independent SIA report with the participation of 2,501 residents impacted by the proposed PJD Link highway alignment.

The purpose of the survey stemmed from an alleged lack of transparency regarding the official SIA and to obtain the views of stakeholders in the PJD Link construction area.

The online survey held from Feb 6 to May 1 this year concluded that 88.6 percent of respondents strongly disagreed with the PJD Link.

Additionally, 93.6 percent of respondents stated they and their families will be impacted by this project.

Damansara Kim resident Dominic Wong reportedly said the group’s independent SIA was submitted to PlanMalaysia Selangor and Putrajaya on May 12 for consideration.

The group’s SIA was also submitted to the Department of Environment (DOE).

No need to declassify

The Works Ministry on July 5, 2022, stated that the cabinet had already approved, in principle, the PJD Link on Nov 12, 2017. The final approval is, however, subject to further negotiations.

According to the statement, a concession agreement was signed on April 5 last year, which required the developer to fulfil the requirements of the EIA, SIA, and TIA before the agreement could take effect and construction begin.

According to the PJD Link website, it will have a total of 11 interchanges spanning from Bandar Utama to the Bukit Jalil Highway, connecting with expressways such as the Federal Highway, Sprint, New Pantai Expressway, and Kesas Highway.

On June 15 this year, Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said there is no need to declassify the PJD Link concession agreement despite earlier urgings by three PKR MPs - Wong Chen (Subang), Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya), and William Leong Jee Keen (Selayang) - for the government to consider the declassification.

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