What happened yesterday night was an absolute outrage for me!!! Just watching the video taken, and the news reports on the incident, I felt boiled… Federal Reserve Units (anti-riot special force) and many policemen were dispatched to the site, to ensure the highway company could erect the barricades to block the residents’ use of the road, forcing them to go detour and pay extra toll-fees (which they had done in the past 2 years). This is not enough, the policemen and FRU even went further to use violence to disperse the angry protesting crowds forcefully! They fired dozen of tear gas and doused the crowd with chemical water cannons. One MP was roughed up and eventually got hospitalized, and few residents including the representative were arrested. Check the report here, and the video here (by Malaysiakini)
This is a gross violation of human rights! I don’t see the highway toll operator company has any justification to do this… How come policemen who is supposed to stand by their people and protect them from harm, could be given order by the highway toll operator, a mere private company to do such actions? How could the Grand Saga Sdn Berhad have such influence and power to do so, even they are already losing the case when the new Pakatan-led state government claimed the site is belonged to the Selangor state (after an independent survey was carried out by land office), and so is the road? The closing of the road is already so unfair to the residents to endure all these years, they have every rights to claim the usage of the access road. It was reported that BMC residents had been ‘contributed’ half of the construction cost of the highway, and there is no (sensible) alternative way to get to Kuala Lumpur than this highway (upgraded from the old road, and sold by the BN Federal government since 1996).
Many other Klang Valley residents suffer the same problem to pay their hard-earned cash for these ‘piratised’ highway (which many don’t see as a highway), but nothing to compare to BMC residents (see the google map below). I live in Subang Jaya, I could quite understand the feelings of many others when the toll fee is kept rising every few years, and felt the pinch on my neck. When I read about the incident happened yesterday, I cannot hold myself anymore… We have enough of unreasonable highway tolls built around our home area!!! Roads are for public, it’s government’s responsibility to provide good road links to the people. Highway could only be allowed, if there is always an alternative road for the people to choose to use. I know it’s not possible for BN government to correct this phenomenon of ‘piratisation’ of roads, to retract the one-sided contracts only to the benefits of the cronies of ruling party. I don’t see how this could change now, other than change the federal government next time, and appeal to the new government to re-possess the road.
In this episode, Grand Saga Ltd. is so stubborn to try their effort to block the road even every attempt they face the destruction of the barricades soon under the angry residents. Yesterday, finally they came to this brutal resolution to dig the drain and build the the permanent barricades once and for all, abuse the public institution (police force) for their own benefits. It’s not possible that they don’t know the residents’ grievance after they’ve got such a treatment and oppressed by so long. After a convincing victory for the federal-opposition, this gives so much hopes for the residents to claim their rights. Yesterday’s incident was just to infuriate the people even more!!!
Grand Saga Ltd could easily go to court and challenge the state government on the ownership of the access road, if they really think they have a case and facts in their hands to defend themselves. They could perhaps win the case in the favour of ‘Correct x3’ court, and allowing these angry residents to use the road temporarily, so to avoid the clash yesterday. But they didn’t. They already have no business ethics at first, now violated human rights. Any reasonable person would condemn this act.
The new Pakatan-led state government’s slow reaction to this tension-building case is very much regretted too. I wish Khalid, Menteri Besar of Selangor could just go to the site and announce the site is officially under the state land. I don’t see any need he needs to hold a meeting with the representatives from the pirate highway concessionaire.
I wish BMC residents the best of luck, I’m here to say that I’m with them – even I am in UK now. I’ll be watching…
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