MORE than 1,000 signatures were collected within 90 minutes of a signature campaign at the Bandar Mahkota Cheras morning market on Apr 30. 

Residents began queuing at a temporary stall where the drive was held from as early as 8am to protest the closure of the access road from Bandar Mahkota Cheras township to the Cheras-Kajang Highway. They were also up in arms against the proposed toll at the access road should it be re-opened to traffic.  

According to Bandar Mahkota Cheras Residents Association chairman Ken Lee, the Cheras-Kajang Highway concessionaire closed the access road built by the developer soon after it was opened. 

“The concessionaire claims it will lose out on toll collections if the road, bypassing the Cheras 11th Mile toll plaza, is open. They were also asking the developer for compensation,” he said. 

Residents turning out in full force to protest the closure of the access road.

“Now, we find out that the developer has agreed for a toll booth to be built at the access road because the compensation could not be settled.  

“Furthermore, Dusun Tua assemblyman Rahmat Musa has been quoted in a Chinese daily saying the proposed toll is a practical solution,” Lee added. 

Lee said the access road existed in the original plan for the township before the highway was built.  

The speed at which the signatures were obtained was indicative of the level of frustration among residents. 

Disgruntled resident Alfred Low said the developer promised residents a toll-free access road when they were about to book their properties. 

“At present, we are forced to share the Bandar Sungai Long access road leading to the highway. Residents will save time and money with the opening of the Bandar Mahkota Cheras access road,” he said. 

“Why must the highway concessionaire demand compensation and insist that a toll booth be set up when the developer built the access road?” 

Resident Pua Ming Leong said it took him almost an hour to get from his house in Section 1, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, to the main junction out of Bandar Sungai Long, leading to the highway, a distance of about 3km.  

It takes Pua two hours to reach his office in the centre of Kuala Lumpur and the hassle to gain access to the shared road with Bandar Sungai Long residents is taking its toll. 

“If the access road isn’t ready soon, I am considering moving out of the township and finding a house elsewhere. The public transport here is also unreliable,” Pua voiced. 

A visibly annoyed K.C. Lee said the developer had convinced residents at the time of purchase that the access road would be toll-free even if a highway was built later.  

“We were assured time and time again that the road would be opened without any conditions attached to it. What is happening now?” he asked. 

Kajang Municipal Council corporate communications director Shahriman Mohd Nor said the access road had not been handed over to the council. He also said the Malaysian Highway Authority would decide on the issue and that it was entirely up to the authority. 

The BMCRA and Bandar Sungai Long Residents Association will jointly present the signatures collected to Hulu Langat MP Markiman Kobiran for the matter to be pursued with their interests in mind.