While Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang traders are facing possible eviction to make way for the MRT, project regulators have allegedly agreed to reroute the underground line to save the bungalow of a prominent former minister, opposition lawmakers claimed today.
The lawmakers told a press conference in Parliament today that according to the original MRT plan, its tunnel was to pass beneath the bungalow on Jalan Damansara, off Jalan Duta.
But, they said, work on the original site has now been stopped, the tunnel portal relocated and a variation order has been issued to the contractor, ensuring that the line no longer passes beneath the house.
DAP MP Tony Pua questioned the regulator’s “double-standards”, pointing out that the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) had already claimed the MRT’s Sungai Buloh-Kajang alignment, particularly the tunnel route, was final and could not be changed.
“Now, with the fact that SPAD did indeed make a realignment concession to save a VIP’s bungalow from being affected by the tunnel route, the government must explain its hypocrisy and double-standards in dealing with the above issues,” he said.
