PETALING JAYA, May 20 — An independent survey released today showed that 93.6 per cent of individuals residing along the proposed alignment of the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) expressed their disagreement with the project.
The findings of the independently-conducted Social Impact Assessment (SIA) showed that the majority of the respondents were of the opinion that noise and air pollution from the PJD Link highway would be intolerable and that the highway would not reduce traffic congestion as promised.
“An overwhelming 93.6 per cent of the respondents disagreed with the proposed highway, irrespective of their age, length of residence, or distance of their premises from the highway alignment,” said Dominic Wong, a volunteer at the Independent SIA Release + Forum event at Five Stones Condominium today.
Similarly, 93.6 per cent of the respondents agreed that they and their families would be impacted by the project.
The group, Say No to PJD Link, said they needed to conduct their own assessment due to the alleged lack of transparency regarding the official SIA.
“According to Malaysian law, only the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required to be shared with the public, while the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) and SIA are not,” Wong said.
Besides conducting the survey, the community group previously also held focus group discussions with various businesses, schools and places of worship.
According to Wong, these discussions proved and solidified the community’s strong opposition to the construction of the highway, as indicated in the survey results.
“The state, federal and local governments must listen to the voice of the community, is what we derived from the survey from so many people, to not approve the highway,” he said.
The results of the SIA have been submitted to the Department of Environment and PLANMalaysia Selangor, as well as its headquarters in Putrajaya.
Wong added that the group is currently raising funds to file a judicial review in court if the Selangor government proceeds with the project.
The proposed PJD Link highway would connect Bandar Utama to Bukit Jalil, aiming to serve as a means of dispersing traffic and alleviating traffic congestion in Petaling Jaya.
Previously, the group had staged a protest against the proposed PJD Link at Bandar Kinrara, Puchong on April 1, crying out their frustrations over the highway’s potential impacts on the residents and the environment.
The online survey amassed a total of 2,501 respondents between February 6 and May 1, 2023.
A forum called “Tolled Elevated Highways: Who Benefits?” was held in conjunction with the release of the SIA results, featuring Aziff Azuddin from Transit Malaysia, who discussed an integrated public transport network, and finance journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa, who discussed the beneficiaries of highways.
