Because of ex-Minister's house, MRT tunnel realigned...

A comparison between the original alignment and the revised alignment.
Diagram courtesy of Tony Pua

Pakatan Rakyat MPs have questioned the double standards of the Land Public Transport Commission (or Spad by its Malay acronym) in realigning the MRT tunnel near Damansara in order to bypass property belonging to a VIP.

Petaling Jaya Utara Tony Pua revealed at a press conference in the Parliament lobby today that the luxury mansion - which was in the path of the MRT tunnel in the original project plan - has been mysteriously “saved”.

original alignment

"The original plans clearly show the tunnel passing underneath the VIP bungalow... However for reasons best known to the authorities, the work on the original site (was) stopped (and) the tunnel portal relocated," he said. Asked for the identity the property owner, Pua would not reveal it.

He showed the media copies of what he claimed were the ‘before and after’ plans for the tunnel. This, he claimed, happened via a variation order that was issued even though work was in progress, requiring the contractor to realign the tunnel away from the property located near Jalan Damansara and Jalan Duta.

revised alignment

“The government must explain its hypocrisy and double standards in dealing with the issue,” he said. Pua pointed out that other property are slated to be acquired by Spad, as the MRT tunnel will run below buildings in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and the heritage-rich Jalan Sultan.

Spad had previously argued that it cannot deviate from its plans, a stance that has apparently been flouted in this case.

"The costly and last-minute change flies in the face of Spad and Pemandu's arguments that the tunnel route has been optimised and finalised and no longer subject to change," decried Pua.

‘Political intervention’

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, who was present, said the incident bodes ill for the public perception of Spad which, as this case has painted, seems to be open to political intervention.

"They seem to bend to the political will of the powers-that-be," she said. More importantly, Nurul said, it shows that well-connected individuals are given special consideration by the government, which then ignores the plight of hundreds of other property owners affected by arbitrary land acquisition by Spad.

Fong Kui Loon, DAP's Bukit Bintang parliamentarian, said that if such realignment was possible to "save" the VIP's house, then similar detours can be made for “more noble” reasons.

Rerouting the MRT tunnel through Jalan Tan Cheng Lok would save some 38 heritage buildings in Jalan Sultan, he added.

source:malaysiakini

Terowong MRT dilencong bagi elak rumah VIP

MRT line changed to save ex-minister’s house, claim Pakatan MPs

Sesiapa yang tahu nama ex-Minister tu tolong2 kongsi mai....

cheers.