I have some basic questions to the planners of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) proposal. I need these questions answered, and as I wrote in my earlier column on this subject; I have locus standi as a 30-year rent paying resident of PJ to ask and seek the answers to these questions even before the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) considers this proposal; not the other way around.
Why is Kidex a core value proposition for PJ folk?
Why do Petaling Jaya (PJ) residents need another highway to get around in PJ? What we really need is less cars, or at least less people using cars at the peak hours of traffic. We already have too many highways that are never high enough or are not really highways because they are all jammed at peak hours.
When I read and understood the alignment of the so-called proposed expressway, it actually offloads traffic from NKVE to Bandar Kinrara; presumably towards the Seremban portion of Plus’ North-South Expressway. It therefore does not at all serve our interests in any way.
I am unclear how it serves the residents of PJ. But that, too, is owned by Plus. So, my conclusion is that this highway serves the interests of Plus and has little or nothing to do with PJ residents. My consequential question then is why do residents of PJ have to tolerate another highway through our locality but which has zero value for us?
Actually if you see the proposed alignment, it off-loads all the through traffic from Kelang and Rawang towards both and the south but does little for PJ resident and their exits into their localities. It has therefore zero value to PJ residents. My response, please go find another alignment which does not abuse us as citizens and residents of our 50 year old jurisdiction. Consequently, I have to rise even more questions that need answers.
Is not the sky above our lands ours, too?
Under our system of land law, all land under the actual property and all of the sky above us are considered part and parcel of the same land that we own. If this is true and correct, and if then all PJ residents come together, is it not also equally true that “even MBPJ needs our permission to approve anything that crosses over our private lands?”
Of course the airplanes fly way above our lands, too, but they fly high enough not to be bother to the local residents and therefore we do not complain. Remember the supersonic jet called Concorde which was finally abandoned because of the noise level it spread over the near geography of the airport and was that not why it was completely stopped by French courts?
Will not noise and dust pollution be accelerated into our homes?
For about five years my family and I lived in a government quarters next to Jalan Duta and it was amazing that the extent of dust pollution that was brought into our home after the Jalan Duta was upgraded into a four-lane highway. My wife and our helper had to mop and clean the floors daily because we had two children below five years of age; and one of whom was an avid crawler.
Therefore, my consequential question is, while we already have the LDP and the Federal Highway near our homes and we already have a more than our fair share of dust in the air; why do we need more than this share of dust, only to give greater profits to the developers of the new highway and to further exploit the NKVE and the Plus highway?
Is this a not-in-my-backyard syndrome?
Personally, I do not think so. What is becoming obvious to me is that the federal government has taken on a worldview of profit before people perspective. Any and all available land in and around PJ has been given up for so-called development; without too much consideration as to what that word means. Development cannot mean building and highways.
Development must mean progress, but it cannot mean, progress with UGLY CAPITALISM, but rather what we need is slow but steady progress with a MORAL CAPITALISM. It means that development must mean progress towards and improved quality of life for all the citizens of Malaysia.
Today, sadly, the so-called development meant only for car-owning democracy, but appears to exclude the citizens who choose to not own cars, or only choose to use public transportation. Please try and get to any of the hospitals in a hurry but without an ambulance or without a car.
Or try to go and watch a movie without a car, and you will soon find out the predicament of most average and ordinary Malaysians. Mine is not just a Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) Syndrome reaction but a considered and thought through statement about what development means.
Development must improve quality of life for all
Historically, our development was geography based, but after 50 years we have reached a stage where development cannot benefit those who are economically and socially well-off. Development must be needs-based and must focus or the marginalised and deprived groups regardless of the reasons for their dis-enablement.
Consequently, the development must be spread by the government agencies based on identified needs and their lack of needed resources. Finally, we as a nation must be able to not only reduce poverty to low levels but also the spread of development to those who are dis-enfranchised. It cannot be all about giving subsidies that feed then for a day, but rather teaching them to fish so that they can feed themselves for a lifetime.
My problem with the Kidex project is that it only appears to benefit the developers and none at all the people of PJ. Maybe I cannot see the fuller picture, but that is precisely the problem. The Kidex and many other highways across Selangor are being rushed through without transparency and accountability to the very people whom it affects in terms of their quality of life.
May the Good Lord bless the Selangor government to see the light and understand the full implications of pushing this project through without the explicit support of the people of PJ.
