We refer to the statement by Selangor MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in the Malay Mail today: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/unfair-to-developer-if-proposed-highway-scrapped-says-selangor-mb
The Menteri Besar was quoted in the above article saying that “it is unfair to the developer to scrap the highway”.
We are troubled by the position taken by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as all decisions taken by the state must be in the best interest of the rakyat of Selangor. And in doing that, there will be occasions where corporate profit-driven interests are sacrificed. As an example, we fully support Tan Sri Khalid’s position on not increasing the price for the acquisition of the private water concessionaires which will only lead to excessive profit by these companies.
If the Selangor Government in the end makes a final decision to approve Kidex, it only must be because credible studies have demonstrated that this highway is beneficial to the residents. We are not against the construction of a highway per se, but such decisions cannot be because it’s fair or unfair to the developer.
However, as at this time, such information or traffic study on Kidex is still not out yet, and not available for public scrutiny. If traffic studies show that this highway is not beneficial to the rakyat, why allow it to go ahead? Even The Minister of Works reply stated that the project cannot go ahead if public feedback is negative.
We are not privy to the consession agreement Kidex has signed with the Federal Government last year. We are also not privy to all the impact studies, especially the traffic impact study. The state government must demand for the disclosure of these items in the interest of transparency and good governance.
It is also important to note that the Selangor Government was not party to the highway concession agreement. Thus the question of Selangor’s obligation to Kidex does not arise at all. Instead, its obligation is first to its people, especially in the areas affected by the highway construction.
Therefore, we hope that Tan Sri Khalid is able to assist the residents in securing the information necessary to evaluate the necessity as well as to ensure that the highway will not unjustly burden the user and grant the concessionaire astronomical profits. These information must be made available to the public before any decision to approve or reject the project is made by the state government.