SEMENYIH, March 2 ― As with developing satellite towns throughout the country, Semenyih suffers from regular traffic congestion.
The issue is exacerbated by rapid development, particularly in the residential sector.
With only two highways (LEKAS ― Lebuhraya Kajang Seremban and Kajang SILK ― Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway) linking the township to the capital, the main thoroughfare of Jalan Semenyih is near peak capacity from the thousands of vehicles that use it daily.
For candidates of the by-election here, how they address this matter could determine how Semenyih treats them today.
As the ruling state and federal governments, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is seen as best poised to resolve this.
“There are too many residential development in the area. Yes, it is true Semenyih is developed but its existing infrastructures like roads and public transportation are not.
“The traffic congestion is made worse with visitors from outside Semenyih heading into the town to access Broga’s hiking trail and those avoiding the highway tolls to head towards Seremban,” 48-year-old Grab driver M. Parthiban told Malay Mail.
High-density residential projects such as L'MARQ Residence near Bandar Rinching and The Residence 1 @ Tiara East near Broga have mushroomed throughout Semenyih in recent times, contributing to road delays locals suffer as more people begin to settle in.
The largest and most prominent landed mixed housing projects are the 1,089-acre Eco Majestic and the 753-acre Setia Ecohill township that locals claimed to be “unprecedented development” for Semenyih.
Private sector worker Mohd Kassim Abdullah, who commutes from Semenyih and Kuala Lumpur, said one could spend 40 minutes just navigating through traffic here during peak hours.
“Its worst when any of the numerous intersection traffic lights along Jalan Semenyih malfunctions or when school ends. Traffic will definitely come to a standstill,” the local-born from Bandar Rinching said.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia election director S. Arutchelvan pointed out that there were plans to build a flyover near the Semenyih market that will bypass Jalan Semenyih and linked with Jalan Broga for the past eight years, but this has not materialised.
“Semenyih was initially a rural town and some of these luxurious and upscale high-rise developments only began in recent years.
“What it is doing instead is raise housing prices and they are not helping with the traffic either,” he said.
Tracing Jalan Semenyih’s historical background
The 25km-long Jalan Semenyih ― also part of Federal Route 1 ― is one of the oldest federal roads in Malaysia. These had formed the backbone of the road network in the west of the peninsula before being supplanted by the North–South Expressway (PLUS) in 1994.
The road (which varies from two to four in different parts) splits the Semenyih township in half and serves the nearly 54,000 local residents with a single access route to either Seremban, Kajang or KL.
Jalan Semenyih, at present, stretches from the Kajang police headquarters in Kajang all the way until the township of Mantin in Negri Sembilan.
Some of the most congested areas observed are the traffic light intersections between Jalan Broga (Broga Hill and University of Nottingham Campus) and Jalan Sungai Lanang (Nirvana Memorial Park).
Toll abolition not ‘beneficial’ to traffic woes
On February 23, PH announced the planned takeover of the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat (SPRINT), Lebuhraya Shah Alam (KESAS) and SMART Tunnel.
On these, tolls will be replaced with a “congestion charge” 30 per cent cheaper than current rates between 5am and 11pm. From 11pm to 5am, they will be free to use.
While this came ahead of the Semenyih poll, locals said they do not see how this would be directly beneficial.
“If you ask me, the recent announcement on the toll abolition does not affect Semenyih people as the four highways mentioned is not near (Semenyih) at all,” Persatuan Teksi Semenyih secretary Bharathi Dasan. 67, told Malay Mail.
Parthiban instead suggested that an alternative road be built for Semenyih’s city-bound commuters after pointing out a proposal had been brought up in the early 2000s.
“The alternative route connects Bandar Rinching to Taman Pelangi Semenyih until Kampung Pasir and Kajang SILK, effectively bypassing Jalan Semenyih,” he said.
While PH said the four highways were the beginning of its pledge to eventually abolish tolls in Malaysia, some in Semenyih said it instead reminded them that the coalition previously reneged on its election pledge.
In PH’s election manifesto under Promise 6, it had promised to abolish toll collection gradually after it has conducted a thorough study all highway concession agreements prior to a takeover.
After winning the general election, PH told Malaysians it could not afford to do so due to the compensation involved.
Sedar vice-president Michelle Foo said there was an undercurrent of unhappiness over undelivered election pledges.
Every cloud has a silver lining
For PSM candidate Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, public transportation remained the top priority and PSM would lobby to get the free Selangor SMART Bus service into Semenyih.
“I also planned to meet with MRT Corp to get more feeder bus to Semenyih and reintroduce feeder bus route between Kajang and Seremban,” he said when contacted.
PH’s Muhammad Aiman Zainali is also banking on a similar solution for the existing traffic gridlock, promising to improve the frequency of the Selangor SMART Bus service as well as upgrading existing taxi terminals following the announcement of his election manifesto.
Dubbed ‘Connected Semenyih’ in his Aiman4Semenyih agenda, Muhammad Aiman has pledged to begin implementing his personal manifesto as soon as possible, should he win the by-election.
Semenyih will vote tomorrow in the by-election triggered by the death of the PH incumbent, Bakhtiar Mohd Nor, on January 11.
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