Opponents of the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash) and the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Expressway (SUKE) have pointed out that PKR leaders have conveniently used highway issues to oust former Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim but are now keeping silent on the Dash and SUKE issues.

“(Selangor Menteri Besar) Mohamed Azmin Ali has not answered why the Selangor government is aiding and abetting the approval of these federal government projects when there were so many breaches and non-compliance of local laws.

“In fact, not a single politician from the Pakatan coalition has said a thing about the highway projects.

“We take note that when it was convenient for Pakatan to oust Abdul Khalid, these highways were dastardly BN crony projects,” said the ‘Say No to SUKE’ and ‘Say No to Dash’ groups in a joint statement yesterday.

They said that DAP Puchong MP Gobind Singh had said two years ago that promises made to the people during elections, reduced into election manifestos, must be respected and fulfilled.

However, this ‘consistency’ ended when the Selangor government allowed the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) project to proceed despite numerous protests, as it went through the Ampang Forest Reserve, said the groups.

“As such, the impression we have from Azmin’s reply and the silence of his colleagues is that the Selangor government is above the law and is hell-bent on bulldozing these two highway projects on top of EKVE.

“So please do not give us the condescending answer that it is wrong for us to blame the Pakatan government,” the groups said.

Azmin has responded to these highway issues with a generic statement that his administration cares and has always addressed the concerns of the public and that it was unfair to blame the Selangor government for a federal project, the groups said.

They pointed out that this was a complete turnaround from earlier comments made by Azmin on this issue, where he said that the Dash highway project will only be approved if it was accepted by all residents of the area.

“If the government truly addressed our concerns, there would be some sort of documentation to prove it.

‘Zero official response’

“We have received zero official response to our criticisms from the Selangor government, which was why we opted to file police reports,” the groups said.

They also noted that it was the Selangor land office that issues the land acquisition notices for the highway projects in July last year and that the Selangor Forestry Department had advertised the state government’s intention to de-gazette several forest reserves in March.

“These instructions can only come from the Selangor exco.

“The officers themselves do not hold executive powers and the federal government cannot usurp the state government’s power over their own land and natural resources, as per our federal constitution,” the groups said.

Dash will reportedly be a 20.1km, three-lane, dual carriageway expressway starting from Puncak Perdana in Shah Alam to the Penchala interchange.

With 12 interchanges, the expressway is proposed to link drivers to the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong and Sprint highways.

SUKE is a 24.4km long dual carriageway that will serve as an alternative route to the busy Middle Ring Road II.