Kidex highway will only cut jams by 3% to 5%, according to traffic report

The controversial Kidex elevated highway will only cut traffic congestion by up to 5% in Petaling Jaya when the RM2.4 billion project is completed, according to an early report prepared by its developers.

Selangor DAP lawmakers revealed the preliminary Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) today, saying it flies in the face of previous claims by the company's officials that the 14.9km expressway will reduce traffic jams by 20% to 35%.

Damansara Utama state assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin said today according to the TIA, the highway would reduce congestion on 43 roads in PJ by only 3.05%, ten years after it has been completed by a company owned by an Umno lawyer and the family of former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi.

When it is completed in 2018, the highway, which would cut through some of the densest parts of PJ, would only ease congestion by 5.84%.

Damansara Utama state assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin said today according to the TIA, the highway would reduce congestion on 43 roads in PJ by only 3.05%, ten years after it has been completed by a company owned by an Umno lawyer and the family of former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Faisal Salehhuddin, June 11, 2014.

Yeo said the report conflicted Kidex chief executive officer Datuk Mohamad Nor Idrus' own claims that the highway would bring down total congestion in the PJ area by 20-35%.

"The claim by the Kidex CEO is based on the reduction of congestion on certain roads in PJ. But total congestion overall reduction in PJ is only 3 to 5%" Yeo told reporters at her office in Damansara Utama today.

The report’s findings is expected to spark further questions about the highway's so-called benefits to residents in PJ who are being asked to put up with the pollution and congestion that comes with the highway's construction.

The federal government has given approval "in principle" to Kidex go ahead with the project which will see an elevated highway being built over houses, schools and businesses in PJ as the highway winds its way from Kinrara to Bandar Utama.

Opposition to the project has been stiff from residents who believe it will cause more traffic gridlock, pollute its surroundings and endanger school children.

The preliminary TIA which was made available to the press, showed traffic projections for two different periods – 2018, when the project is scheduled to be completed and 2028, 10 years after its been in place. The estimates were based on traffic along 43 roads in PJ, which includes the area's biggest and busiest.

In 2018, the report estimates that traffic on those 43 roads in PJ would total 1,545,553 passenger car unit (PCU) if Kidex was not built. If Kidex was built, total traffic would be 1,455,310 PCU.

In 2028, the report estimates that there will be 1,917,040 cars in PJ if Kidex was not built. While if the highway was operational, there would be 1,858,531 PCU.

Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran, whose constituents were being severely affected by the highway, said the report questions how effective the highway really is at cutting congestion.

"If the pain that everyone has go through because of its construction is so high and the benefit is so low, is it really worth going through with it?"

Other DAP lawmakers also criticised how the project was being implemented, saying that the secrecy surrounding its technical and financial aspects suggests that it was being rushed past public scrutiny.

Bukit Tunku assemblyperson Lau Weng San this could be seen in how the complete traffic, social and environmental impact reports had not been made public more than nine months after the project was approved.

“Either the reports have not been revealed or they have not finished the reports. If they haven’t finished the reports, then it looks like this project is being rushed.”

Lau also said it was unacceptable for the company to claim that documents concerning the highway have been put under the Official Secrets Act.

“There is nothing about this project that threatens national security. It should not be under the OSA.” – June 11, 2014.

Source: The Malaysian Insider




Reference Link: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/kidex-highway-will-only-cut-jams-by-3-to-5-say-dap-lawmakers#sthash.O3bQCOhf.dpuf

KIDEX akan memakan kos RM 3 bilion

Kenyataan media oleh Yeo Bee Yin, ADUN Damansara Utama pada hari 8 Jun 2014.

Lebuhraya Kinrara-Damansara (KIDEX) akan memakan kos pembinaan tertinggi untuk setiap kilometer, berbanding laluan bertol lain, dengan jumlah kos melebihi RM 3 bilion.

Lebuhraya KIDEX sepanjang 14.9km akan memakan kos sebanyak RM 2.4 bilion, iaitu RM161 juta bagi setiap satu kilometer. Jadual di bawah menunjukkan kos pembinaan per-kilometer bagi kesemua laluan bertol. Ia menunjukkan bahawa jika KIDEX dibina, kos pembinaan per-kilometer KIDEX adalah yang tertinggi dalam sejarah laluan bertol di Malaysia.

Tambahan pula, jumlah RM 2.4 bilion itu belum pun mengambil kira kos pengambil-alihan tanah.

Putrajaya must justify Kidex record price tag

Media Statement by Yeo Bee Yin, DAP State Assemblywoman of Damansara Utama, on Sunday 8 Jun 2014, in Petaling Jaya.

Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (KIDEX) will incur the highest construction cost per km for tolled roads in Malaysia history, with a total cost of more than RM 3 billion.

If KIDEX is to be constructed, the 14.9km highway with a construction cost of RM2.4 billion, will incur the highest construction cost per km in Malaysia tolled roads history, costing us RM 161 million per km. (See table below for construction cost per km for existing toll roads).

Insiden rogol bergilir-gilir di Kelantan

Kenyataan media oleh Yeo Bee Yin, Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Damansara Utama pada hari Selasa, 3 Jun 2014.

Insiden rogol bergilir-gilir di Kelantan adalah isyarat supaya bangkit menangani keganasan yang terhadap kanak-kanak dan wanita yang kian memuncak di Malaysia.

Kami sangat berdukacita dengan berita seorang remaja berusia 15 tahun yang dirogol bergilir-gilir oleh 38 orang lelaki di Ketereh, Kelantan pada 20 Mei 2014. Kes yang begitu tragis menimbulkan gerun wanita di Malaysia yang mungkin pernah melalui pengalaman keganasan yang serupa.

Pihak berkuasa mesti melakukan segala yang ia mampu untuk membawa mereka yang bertanggungjawab dalam kes ini ke muka pengadilan.

Kejadian keganasan seksual terhadap anak bawah umur ini juga mengingatkan kita kepada trend peningkatan keganasan terhadap kanak-kanak dan wanita di Malaysia yang semakin menjadi-jadi.

Menurut Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, bilangan kes penderaan kanak-kanak telah meningkat antara 2,789 pada tahun 2009 menjadi 3,428 pada tahun 2011 dan 3,831 pada tahun 2012.

Gang-rape in Kelantan a wake up call to address violence against women and children

Media Statement by Yeo Bee Yin, DAP State Assemblywoman for Damansara Utama on Tuesday 2 Jun 2014.

Recent gang-rape incident in Kelantan is a wake-up call for us to tackle increasing violence against children and women in Malaysia.

We are deeply saddened by the news of a 15 year-old teenage girl who was gang-raped by 38 men in Ketereh, Kelantan on 20 May 2014. Such a tragic case sends shiver down the spines of many Malaysian women, who may also be subjected to similar violence.  

We urge the authorities to go all out to bring the inhumane perpetrators of this case to justice according to the laws.

Be part of the solution, Yeo tells Khairy

DAP's Damansara Utama state assemblyperson Yeo Bee Yin has urged Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to be part of the solution after a back and forth argument on the Selangor water crisis.

"If Khairy is really sincere about solving Selangor water problems instead of getting into endless rebuttals to lay blame on Selangor government, I have four practical suggestions for him as a cabinet member," she said in a statement today.

Firstly, Yeo (right) said Khairy should convince his colleague in the cabinet, Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to approve Selangor's application to use Thailand's Royal Rainmaker Technology for cloud seeding as it uses ejectable flare.

"Secondly, in order for the public to have fair assessment on the water issues without the politicians interpreting them biasedly, I suggest Khairy to push for the declassification of water concession agreements, which are still hidden under Official Secrets Act," she said.

Yeo said the information is necessary to justify if it was logical for the state government to block a water tariff hike of 37 percent in 2009, 25 percent in 2012 and 15 percent in 2015 by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) for not sufficiently reducing non-revenue water (NRW).

Khairy, in his rebuttal to Yeo's defence of Selangor's handling of the water issue on Tuesday, had blamed the state's blocking of the water tariff hike for the Syabas failure to sufficiently reduce NRW as it was deprived of funds.

      
'Let the public decide'

Furthermore, Yeo asked Khairy, who is also BN Youth chief, to push the cabinet to declassify the national audit report on Syabas.

Empat cadangan untuk Khairy Jamaluddin berkenaan krisis air Selangor.

Kenyataan Media Yeo Bee Yin, ADUN Damansara Utama, pada hari Khamis 8 Mei 2014.

Empat cadangan untuk Khairy Jamaluddin berkenaan krisis air Selangor.

Sangat menarik melihat Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Khairy Jamaluddin begitu beriya-iya mendapatkan puji-pujian untuk Barisan Nasional berikutan krisis air di Selangor terutamanya dengan memberi justifikasi kepada kenaikan melampau terhadap tariff air bagi syarikat konsesi swasta yang tidak menunjukkan prestasi yang baik. Selanjutnya, jika Khairy benar-benar ikhlas mahu menyelesaikan masalah air di Selangor, saya ada empat cadangan untuknya sebagai anggota kabinet.

Pertamanya, untuk penggal ini, saya cadangkan beliau menggesa rakan sejawatnya di Kementerian Pertahanan untuk meluluskan permohonan kerajaan negeri utnuk menggunakan Royal Rainmaker Technology dari Thailand untuk menjalankan pembenihan awan di Selangor bagi bersedia untuk mendepani musim kemarau yang bakal menjelang. Teknologi pembenihan awan ini menggunakan kaedah Ejectable Flare Rack, yang melibatkan keselamatan negara. Justeru kelulusan daripada Kementerian Pertahanan adalah diperlukan.

Kedua, supaya orang ramai dapat menilai isu air ini secara adil tanpa tafsiran berat sebelah ahli politik, saya cadangkan Khairy untuk menggesa supaya perjanjian konsesi air dinyah-klasifikasi, memandangkan semuanya masih dilindungi Akta Rahsia Rasmi. Hanya dengan pendedahan penuh maklumat terbabit maka rakyat boleh menilai sendiri sama ada logik atau tidak untuk kerajaan negeri menghalang tariff air dinaikkan sehingga 37% pada 2009, 25% pada 2012 dan 14% pada 2015 memandangkan Syabas tidak mampu mengurangkan non-revenue water (NRW) mereka seperti yang dituntut oleh perjanjian. Orang ramai juga akan dapat menilai sama ada tawaran pampasan kerajaan negeri kepada syarikat konsesi untuk pengambil-alihan adalah adil berdasarkan syarat-syarat yang dinyatakan dalam perjanjian.

Lima kesilapan dalam kenyataan Khairy Jamaluddin tentang krisis air Selangor.

Kenyataan Media oleh ADUN Damansara Utama, Yeo Bee Yin pada hari Selasa 29 April 2014.

Lima kesilapan dalam kenyataan Khairy Jamaluddin tentang krisis air Selangor.

Saya merujuk tulisan Khairy Jamaluddin bertajuk “Who is to be blamed for Selangor Water Woes?”. Beliau dengan cemerlang telah memasukkan sebahagian fakta sambil tidak mempedulikan sebahagian fakta lain, mengakibatkan pembaca percaya bahawa kerajaan Selangor sahajalah yang mesti dipersalahkan berkaitan krisis air ini.

Pertamanya saya mahu sebut bahawa kekurangan bekalan air semasa adalah akibat perubahan corak hujan akibat daripada perubahan iklim. Oleh itu, sementara ramalan kerajaan persekutuan pada 2010 nampaknya sedang menjadi nyata bahawa krisis air akan berlaku pada tahun 2014, punca kepada krisis ini bukanlah pertumbuhan permintaan seperti yang diramal kerajaan persekutuan. Berdasarkan trend pertumbuhan permintaan, Tan Sri Khalid percaya pada waktu itu bahawa Selangor mempunyai bekalan air yang mencukupi untuk memuaskan permintaan sehingga tahun 2019. Meski beliau juga turut bertanggungjawab kerana gagal mempertimbangkan risiko cuaca, kerajaan persekutuan mesti berhenti berkelakuan seakan berkata ‘kan kami dah cakap’ hanya kerana ia secara kebetulan, benar dalam ramalannya tentang krisis air.

Kedua, Khairy telah menunjukkan bahawa keengganan kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat untuk membenarkan Syabas menaikkan tarif air telah menyebabkan Syabas hilang keuntungan untuk mengurangkan non-revenue water (NRW) nya. Saya ingin memperingatkan Khairy bahawa walaupun tanpa kenaikan tarif air, tarif air Selangor sudah pun menjadi yang kedua tertinggi di negara ini. Faktor kenapa Syabas gagal mengurangkan NRW-nya ialah kerana salahguna dana rakyat.