Opponents of the Damansara–Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (Dash) and Sungai Besi–Ulu Klang Elevated Expressway (Suke) have slammed the Selangor government for its lack of transparency in the Selangor State Structure Plan 2035.
In a joint statement by the Say No to Dash and Suke groups yesterday, they pointed out that the original Selangor Structure Plan 2020, which first started in 2002 and was gazetted in 2007 during BN's time, had adopted even more transparent measures.
The document is significant as it will determine whether the Dash and Suke will be incorporated into the plan, which will pave the way to the construction the expressways.
They took issue that the meeting with residents called by the Selangor Town and Country Planning Department yesterday to finalise the plan was held behind closed doors.
"The process in which the meetings are being conducted do not follow the open town hall meetings the state government held during the preparation of the original Selangor Structure Plan 2020, which was followed up with written letters detailing the changes that the government would incorporate into the document based on the feedback it received," the two groups said.
They added that requests for the Selangor government to furnish residents with copies of the draft document so that they could study the matter were also ignored.
One-sided briefing sessions
"Without the documents to study beforehand and an open meeting where the public and media can observe and report on the issue, the meetings being conducted by the Selangor Town and Country Planning Department would be one-sided briefing sessions at best.
"The finalised copy of this document will have legal ramifications and the lack of details is disconcerting. Will the highways be included in the plan or won't it?" asked the groups.
They also complained that the Selangor government had deliberately held the meeting on a work day, preventing many from attending.
"Why make it so difficult for residents who have to attend to their day jobs too?" they said.
The press statement was released after a press conference following the meeting at the Selangor Town and Country Planning Department in Shah Alam yesterday.
Also present to assist was Say No to Kidex activist Mak Khuin Weng, whose group was successful in forcing the cancellation of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex).
Mak lamented about the lack of transparency by the current Selangor government in the structure plan for 2035.
"They only ask residents to go in, listen to them, but give no feedback so we don't know what is going into the structure plan. That is why the residents are so anxious," he said.
