TRANSIT took note of the increasingly public disagreement within the Selangor Government about the prioritization of the Kinrara-Damansara expressway also known as the KiDEx ” skyway.”
4 ADUNs from Petaling Jaya have already expressed their opposition to the approval of the expressway and called for greater transparency and suggested that the corridor would be better used for public transport. There is a public group of residents expressing their concerns. Azman Ali, a member of the government and a challenger for Menteri Besar, has also expressed his dismay at the project saying that the government was putting the cart before the horse.
In response the Menteri Besar has said that not building the highway would be unfair to the developer.
Yeah…he said that.
Three of the ADUNs who had expressed their concern about the project earlier responded by reminding the Menteri Besar of his paramount duty to the public rather than developers. Residents of Petaling Jaya are also expressing their disappointment.
But in response:
Yesterday, Khalid suggested that mounting resistance to KIDEX was unlikely to deter his administration from giving the project the necessary nods, and that any concessions would be restricted to the alignment of the route.
TRANSIT Says:
We are completely disappointed by the position taken by the Menteri Besar in giving unilateral support to the Kinrara-Damansara expressway without giving a proper assessment of all options for the corridor including (especially) public transportation.
It is patently wrong for the Menteri Besar to take a position in favour of the interests of a developer…in a non-tramsparent manner…without considering the objections of his own government as well as the public. The Menteri Besar has also failed to consider the evidence against highways (especially elevated highways through urban areas) as well as the obvious advantages of public transport in the corridor. There are also serious concerns that these actions are in contravention of the PR buku jingga manifesto
TRANSIT believes that the disagreement over the Kinrara-Damansara expressway may lead to the fracturing of the Selangor Government and possibly the loss of confidence in the Menteri Besar by the public and his own government.
We know that the best choice for this corridor is non-polluting public transportation capable of moving between 10,000 and 30,000 persons per hour per direction, as compared to heavily polluting elevated highways capable of moving as much as 4,000 persons per hour per direction…but definitely not during peak hours.
Our biggest concern is the simple fact that the obsession with cars has reached into our consciousness and become a culture…one that is dangerous to our individual and social health.
The “Say No to KiDEx” group will be holding a public briefing on May 9th and a public protest tentatively on May 13th More information is available at their Facebook page.
Transit Malaysia 