I am making this statement as a Petaling Jaya resident to condemn the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council’s (MPAJ) recent approval of the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) project.

The approval endorsed by all 24 MPAJ councillors goes against the promises made by Pakatan Rakyat on how highway projects should be treated and makes a mockery of Pakatan Rakyat’s pledge to voters and their manifesto.

I would like to remind Pakatan that the Selangor state government have mandated three immutable criteria prior to the consideration for the approval of any highway project. These are that:

1. All expressway concessionaires must provide detailed independent traffic impact assessment and social impact assessments to demonstrate and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is a SUBSTANTIAL benefit to the residents living in the affected region;

2. There must be public disclosure on the rate of investor return including the toll rates to be charged throughout the life of the concessionaire period. This is to ensure that there will be no astronomical profits for the concessionaire and unfair burden on the people;

3. And, In line with the transparency and accountability practice of the Selangor state government, highway concession agreements must be fully disclosed to the public.

These criteria were set in stone during the annual state budget speech on Nov 24, 2014. The fact that MPAJ councillors approved this project without subjecting the highway concessionaire to fulfil these conditions set by the Selangor government reeks of suspicious intent, especially when you consider the following facts:

1. This highway will cut through the Ampang forest reserve. The forest serves as a water catchment area which in turn supplies water to the Klang Valley, so this issue affects all of us in Klang Valley in more ways than just traffic and makes the entire Klang Valley even more dependent on the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant that has yet to be built.

2. The forest reserve status needs to be de-gazetted to enable the highway to be built over it. If this has been done, it is an ominous sign of things to come – in effect, one of the last forest reserves in the area are now open for development.

EKVE received approval from the Works Ministry despite the project’s reliance on a flawed traffic impact assessment report, the very same report that MPAJ is relying on to approve the project.

It is appalling that our political parties can tear at each other’s throats when it comes to issues of government administration and well-being of the people yet are somehow able to work together when it comes to a project worth billions of ringgit in revenue.

Still, Selangor is a large state and there are many more voices out there representing the public than the 24 councillors of MPAJ.

DAP, PKR and PAS elected representatives in Selangor state should state their stand on EKVE now, preferably at a public meeting where residents can ask questions as well. Such a public meeting is not something new - PJ Utara MP Tony Pua, Puchong MP Gobing Singh Deo and Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli came down to the ground to meet Petaling Jaya residents when we were objecting to the Kidex highway.

In the event our politicians choose to remain silent and allow this project to proceed, I would warn them that every highway column that is driven into the heart of the Ampang forest will be a constant reminder of their betrayal to their Buku Jingga 2013 manifesto.