Activists now cite conflict of interest in Kidex project
After allegations of cronyism in the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway, opponents of the controversial highway now claim to have found proof that points to possible conflict of interest in the project that cuts across Petaling Jaya.
Say No to Kidex (SNTK) say they have found evidence linking a former director of the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) to one of the parent companies of the highway’s developer, Kidex Sdn Bhd, which is linked to an Umno lawyer and the family of former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi.
SNTK vice-chairperson Selve Sugumaran Perumal said research by the group found evidence that the former MHA former director also had shares in one of Kidex’s parent companies.
Selve Sugumaran further said the individual in question had been a director on the MHA board in 2008, when the agency was finalising plans for the Kidex project. Kidex Sdn Nhd is owned by Emrail Sdn Bhd and Zabima Engineering Sdn Bhd.
The MHA is responsible for planning and overseeing highway projects in Malaysia.
“So we are asking did the former director use insider knowledge to allow his company to get a contract for the project. Can this be done?
“We are asking is there a conflict of interest here?” Selve Sugumaran told The Malaysian Insider.
Selve (pic, right) said it was an unbelievable coincidence that a former MHA director also had significant shares in the project’s developer.
When contacted, an MHA official said the agency was studying the allegations before deciding on a response.
Kidex chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nor Idrus said he was unaware of it, but that the company was looking into the allegation.
The RM2.42 billion expressway has been maligned from the very start by its opponents who claim that it would displace many communities in densely populated Petaling Jaya.
Some have questioned whether ties between the project’s developer and several Umno-linked individuals showed that it was “crony” project.
The elevated expressway will tower over homes, schools and businesses in densely populated central Petaling Jaya as it winds its way from Kinrara in the southern part of the Klang Valley to Bandar Utama in the north.
Petaling Jaya residents have banded together to try and stop the project which they claim will worsen already clogged roads, risk the safety of schoolchildren and pollute their neighbourhoods.
Kidex has said that once ready in four years’ time, it would reduce travel time between Damansara and Kinrara by about 25%.
The company also said that the journey time from Puchong to Petaling Jaya could be cut by 50%.
But the highway’s critics, which include elected lawmakers in the area, allege that once ready, Kidex would increase congestion on other PJ roads.
The company has not been granted full permission by Putrajaya to start construction and it still has none of the necessary approvals from the Selangor government and the Petaling Jaya city council.
Kidex Sdn Bhd has applied to the government for extra time for it to submit the necessary documents to get local council approval. – November 18, 2014.
