By Danial Dzulkifly
SHAH ALAM, May 3 – The progress towards creating the Greater Klang Valley administrative area will be tabled during the First Selangor Plan (RS-1) mid-term review, scheduled for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting in July, said Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
The Menteri Besar said a two-day special sitting could be arranged if necessary to extend the upcoming state assembly sitting to discuss the policy.
He explained that the conurbation of Selangor’s four biggest cities — Klang, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam — was constantly being discussed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and federal ministries.
“The matter involves numerous (state) enactments and (federal) laws, and it is not easy as we are planning to combine four major cities under one administration.
“Among the issues we are also looking at is the ultimate command structure that can govern all the mayors, or the supreme authority to govern the area,” he said at a press conference held at the State Legislative Assembly building here today.
Previously, Amirudin said the Greater Klang Valley would be the second catalyst for the state’s progress, bringing together the four aforementioned cities to form a special economic zone, placing it among the top five megacities in Asia.
On the recently shelved Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link Expressway (PJD Link) project, Amirudin refuted allegations by Taman Medan assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin that the Federal government had to pay north of RM100 million to compensate developers for the cancellation.
Amirudin said Dr Afif’s suggestion was to merely cause “inconvenience” to the Federal government.
He also said the state government would focus on providing a better public transport system for local residents in place of the project’s cancellation.
“We will focus on improving public transport, such as BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) services,” Amirudin said briefly.
On April 17, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced the PJD Link project had been cancelled after its developer failed to fulfil conditions precedent contained in the concession agreement, enabling the agreement to take effect.
Dr Afif repeatedly called for the continuation of the project, which he claimed would alleviate traffic congestion in his constituency.
