KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — The Pakatan Harapan government in Selangor should proactively oppose the controversial Petaling Jaya Dispersal Elevated Highway (PJD Link), said incumbent Selayang MP William Leong.
He said the corporate structure of the proposed highway project has clear potential to worsen inequality and hamper economic growth in the state, which could be predicted even before formal evaluations were finalised.
The PKR lawmaker also indicated that the project would be a significant factor for the coalition vying to secure federal power in the 15th general election on November 19.
“The state government need not wait for the environmental impact assessment, social impact assessment, and traffic impact assessment studies before making an announcement. This is because there is a more fundamental objection to the privatisation project.
“Privatisation including public-private-partnership (3Ps) causes more socio-economic harm than good. Privatisation increases inequality, creates poverty with multiple deprivations, and reduces economic growth,” Leong said in a statement today.
Calling out the usual practice of prioritising profits over public interest, he claims the shareholders of the concessionaire would receive RM922 million without having completed a single kilometre of the highway while solely relying on the users to pay for the project costs.
“More importantly, the private sector serves the interest of its shareholders and executives in the singular pursuit of profits. The private sector’s central goal is to maximize profit, not deliver necessary services,” he said.
Leong also said that another reason to reject the proposed privatisation was the all-too-common need to bail out these projects with public funds once they run into financial difficulties.
He added that on top of Klang Valley’s flawed local public transport system, a privatised PJD Link would only force low-income households to resort to buy and use cars because of the lack of alternative commutes for their day-to-day lives.
“These households have high levels of debt and have to suffer the increase in petrol prices, car parking fees, monthly hire-purchase instalments, and toll charges despite being in material deprivation.
“This has resulted in severe economic stress to these households. Therefore, the solution to these problems is not to have more privatised toll highways but a more affordable and efficient public transport system.
“It is imperative that the state government does not turn a blind eye to the reality of inequality and relative poverty in allowing private capital to profit from the provision of essential services,” Leong said.
The PJD Link, which is a tolled elevated highway, would cut across densely populated parts of Petaling Jaya.
Previously, some residents staged a protest against the proposed PJD Link at Section 14, Petaling Jaya, crying out their frustrations over the highway’s potential impacts on the residents and the environment.
