KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua must make a stand on whether he supports or opposes the controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), a local residents’ association leader said today.

Michael Kum, who is assistant chairman of the Petaling Jaya Section 14/1 to 14/5 residents’ association said that the DAP federal lawmaker has a responsibility to inform his constituents his views on the RM2.42 billion project, adding that many of them were concerned with his non-committal stand on the matter.

“As a PJ Utara member, I wish you will address this to us... you clearly mentioned that you agreed with 80 per cent of Say No To Kidex’s (SNTK) presentation content!

“Do you also remember saying you will hold (Tan Sri) Khalid (Ibrahim) to his words regarding Kidex’s development?” Kum said in an open letter addressed to Pua, which was made available to The Malay Mail Online.

According to Kum, Pua had also mentioned during a meeting with residents on May 9 that he would support the Kidex project if there were changes to the alignment.

“In a densely populated and mature city like Petaling Jaya, where at least 80.28 per cent is within 5km of the corridor near urban and associated areas — how can the alignment be shifted? We also have very experienced resident engineers in the SNTK team — and based on our study, this cannot be done,” he added.

Kum pointed out that many other Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state and federal lawmakers — Hee Loy Sian, Rajiv Rishyakaran, Ng Sze Han, Lau Weng San, Gobind Singh, Yeo Bee Yin and Haniza Talha have publicly stated their opposition to the project which severely lacked public details.

“At this point, we just want to ask of your kind and direct opinion. Are you bold enough to put down your stand, and speak the truth?” Kum asked Pua, adding that many residents were afraid of possibly being evicted from their homes via compulsory land acquisition if the project is approved and carried out.

Several Selangor state assemblymen said yesterday that Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim must prioritise the needs and concerns of residents who are against Kidex above any other interested parties.

On top of the list of concerns of many Selangor residents are the lack of information on the details of the highway alignment, and important documents such as the detailed traffic impact assessment which has yet to be furnished by project developer Kidex Sdn Bhd.

The SNTK committee have demanded that MB Khalid call for a referendum in order to gauge whether Selangor constituents are in support of the proposed highway.

But Khalid has repeatedly maintained the Kidex would benefit the “majority” of Selangor residents in solving traffic congestion, and that his administration’s priority is to provide a better system to ease traffic congestion.

He has also said that the state had no power to reject the federal project, and that its authority was limited to fine-tuning the Kidex’s planned alignment route.

The Kidex project has been rejected on three occasions by the city council as developers had failed to provide sufficient details.

Under Section 18 of the Town Country and Planning Act (TCPA), construction cannot start unless the highway fits with MBPJ’s plans.

Kidex is currently not incorporated into the council’s blueprint for Petaling Jaya city.

Despite the growing opposition, mounting evidence in the form of replies in Parliament and the state legislative assembly indicate that the project is set to proceed.

Among the areas that could be affected by the project are Tropicana Mall, SS2 Mall, Rothman’s traffic lights, Section 14, Amcorp Mall, Hilton Petaling Jaya, Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital, Jalan Templer roundabout, Taman Datuk Harun, Taman Medan Baru and Bandar Kinrara.

Construction of the multi-billion ringgit highway could begin as soon as next year and be completed by 2018.