Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Azmin, will there be 3 more tol highways in Selangor?

Selangor government is a DAP-PAS-PKR coalition government, and people are concerned about roads where we have to pay toll. 

Recent allegation that there may 3 other new toll highways in Selangor is disturbing, and Azmin recently said he did not approve any new highways since taking office. But, the question that remains is whether we will be seeing new toll highways in Selangor - and was it approved by Selangor. If it was approved before Azmin became Menteri Besar, the fact still remains that this is a Pakatan Rakyat governed state. Explain that... 

Azmin to face PKR over alleged approval of 3 Selangor highways





Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali will be asked to account for his alleged approval of three highways in the state without the consultation of PKR leadership. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 28, 2015. 




Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali will be asked to account for his alleged approval of three highways in the state without the consultation of PKR leadership. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 28, 2015. 
 
Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali will be hauled up to explain allegations that ‎he approved the construction of three highways in the state without consulting the party leadership, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said.

She said Azmin would have to face the party this Friday during the tabling of the Selangor Budget 2016.

"I will ask him what happened," the opposition leader said outside Parliament today when asked if Azmin would be asked to explain the matter.

"This Friday, we have the Selangor Budget so I will ask him to explain to the party." Sinar Harian yesterday reported PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli as saying that Azmin would have to face the party leadership over the allegations.

Sinar Harian's report mentioned the 32km Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang highway that will cut through Cheras, Kajang and Taman Putra Ampang.

The report said the 60-year concession was awarded to Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings (Prolintas), and was expected to resolve traffic congestion problems in several highways in the Klang Valley.

The state government had approved another highway, the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) in June, which environmentalists said would cut through the Ampang reserve, a critical source of water for the Klang Valley.

This, they said was not in line with Azmin’s pledge on January 7 to ban development which harmed the environment.

Earlier in the year, Azmin pulled the plug on the controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) for failing to fulfil the conditions set by the state government.

Among the conditions were for independent traffic and social impact assessments to prove that the project would benefit not only road users, but also those living along the alignment, as well as the negatives of the project.

The state also wanted the concessionaire to reveal the toll rate throughout the concession period, including any hikes in between. It also wanted to know the amount the concessionaire would collect during the concession period and the rate of return on investment.

The fourth condition was for the full concession agreement to be disclosed in line with the state government’s thrust on transparency and accountability.

Azmin had also said earlier this month there was no definite decision on whether to build a proposed Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (DASH), to which residents had objected.

Last month, residents' lobby group Say No to DASH (SNTD) had also urged Azmin to give clear answers on which highways had been approved following confusion and "errors" involving the listing of certain highways supposedly cancelled in the state's development plans.

SNTD said if found that the last portion of the proposed DASH was still included in the Draft Selangor State Structure Plan (SSP) 2035, despite the menteri besar's promise to the contrary.

Azmin had also previously admitted that the inclusion of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) in the SPP was a mistake, as the state government had already decided to cancel the project.

SNTD said that as of November last year, Kidex, DASH and the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) were still listed as projects under the Selangor government’s development master plan. – October 28, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/azmin-to-face-pkr-over-alleged-approval-of-3-selangor-highways#sthash.1nadMD7H.dpuf



STAR, Wednesday October 28, 2015 MYT 8:22:56 PM

Wan Azizah: Azmin to be questioned over Selangor highways

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Mentri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali will be asked to explain allegations that he approved construction of three highways in the state without the knowledge of the PKR leadership.

PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pic) said Mohamed Azmin will be present during the tabling of the 2016 Selangor Budget on Friday.

"I will ask him what happened. This Friday, we have the tabling of the Selangor Budget so I will ask him to explain to the party at that time," she told reporters at the Parliament lobby on Wednesday.

It was previously reported that Mohamed Azmin had allegedly approved construction of the Sungai Besi - Ulu Klang highway, the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE), and the Damansara - Shah Alam highway (DASH). - Star, 28/10/2015

Fadillah: Three new highways will benefit S’gor people

October 29, 2015
Federal government hopes the expressways will ease traffic congestion on existing roads in the state, says minister.
fadillah-selangor
KUALA LUMPUR: The approval given for the construction of three expressways in Selangor is a rational decision made for the benefit of the people, said Works Minister Fadillah Yusof.

He said the federal government had been hoping for new expressways to be built to help ease traffic congestion on existing roads in the state.

“Besides being beneficial to the country’s economy, it will also be of huge benefit to the people of Selangor and neighbouring areas,” he told reporters after opening the ministry’s Innovation Day 2015 here today.

Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali was recently reported to have approved the construction of the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway, the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway and the East Klang Valley Expressway.

However, the decision became an issue as the menteri besar had allegedly made the decision without informing the state’s ruling party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

– BERNAMA, Star, 29/10/2015

I have not approved any highway since becoming MB, says Azmin


Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali says there have been no highway approvals since he took office late last year. – The Malaysian Insider filepic, November 2, 2015. 
Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali says there have been no highway approvals since he took office late last year. – The Malaysian Insider filepic, November 2, 2015. 
 
Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali today told the state legislative assembly that he had not given approvals for the construction of highways in the state since he took over the position.

He said after the cancellation of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), the state government accepted the fact that building highways was not the answer to traffic congestion issues in the state.

"After being given the trust as menteri besar and after Kidex was cancelled, there has been no other approval given to build any highway in Selangor," he said in answer to a question by Permatang assemblyman Datuk Sulaiman Razak (Barisan Nasional).

Azmin, who is also PKR deputy president, took over as menteri besar from Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim last September. The state government, he said, was in the process of completing a study of the public transportation main plans, and expected it to be ready by the end of the year.

"That is why, in the public transportation structure plan, we take into account the opinions of the public and the needs of new developments," the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman said.

At the same time, Azmin said Selangor was the process of negotiating with Putrajaya to look into the target set by the Land Public Transportation Commission (SPAD) that gave importance to the usage of using private vehicles compared to public transportation with a 40:60.

"If this remains, it will give room to more highways being built and that does not solve any problem."

In fact, the state government also recently announced a joint venture in the Light Rail Transit (LRT) with Kumpulan Prasarana Malaysia Berhad.

"Even if it (LRT) is completed by 2020, it can have a capacity of 70,000 passengers per day from Bandar Utama to Johan Setia."

Besides that, when asked if the government can approve all Kidex projects that have been cancelled, he said it would never happen. – November 2, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/i-have-not-approved-any-highways-since-becoming-mb-says-azmin#sthash.VdsmA3cP.dpuf

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