“We’ve informed them to engage with the local residents, and prove that it isn’t another Kidex,” he said, referring to the highway project that was scrapped in 2015.

He said, if the PJD Link project turns out to be another Kidex, then the government would have to be consistent and decide in a similar fashion.

Amirudin, who was a guest on an episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast, was asked by former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan whether the state government would consider approving the project if the developers fulfilled the conditions.

On July 31, Amirudin said the state government decided to cancel the PJD Link project because the impact assessment reports submitted by the developer were not satisfactory and did not meet certain conditions, particularly its social impact assessment report (SIA).

However, on the following day, Amirudin said the project might be revived if its developer met the requirements set by the state.

When asked what criteria under the SIA wasn’t fulfilled, Amirudin said he didn’t have the details but alluded to issues such as residents’ concerns, noise pollution, and the distance between the pylons and the residential homes.

The proposal for the highway’s construction was approved in principle by the Cabinet in November 2017.

In September 2020, the state government also approved the project in principle, subject to its impact assessment reports.

In May this year, the concessionaire for the proposed PJD Link refuted claims that the highway was a rehash of Kidex.

PJD Link CEO Amrish Hari Narayanan said Kidex was designed to be a direct link between Damansara and Kinrara in Puchong, effectively bypassing PJ, and therefore offered very little benefit to PJ residents.

“PJD Link, on the other hand, is designed to be a traffic dispersal system,” he said, adding that with an additional 11 interchanges and 21 ramps, the project would allow greater access to surrounding communities.