SEMENYIH BYPASS PROJECT: MALAY RESERVE LAND WILL BE REPLACED - PM ANWAR

SEMENYIH, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- Malay reserve land involved in the Semenyih Bypass Project, including the construction of Islamic public burial plots in Hulu Langat, Selangor, will be replaced.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had also given an assurance that he would see to this.

"I heard it myself… I will not compromise on the status of Malay Reserve Land. Yes, if the Malay land has to be taken for road development, it will be replaced.

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"This is the assurance from the Menteri Besar (Amirudin). Then, we will manage other projects as best as possible,” he said at the launch of the Semenyih Public Infrastructure Development project here today.

Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar and Amirudin.

Elaborating, Anwar said the construction of the 4.3-kilometre (km) Semenyih Bypass, which connects Jalan Sungai Lalang and the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK Highway), would be implemented through privatisation.

He said the project, which encompasses the construction of a new Islamic burial ground, will be handed over to the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council for maintenance.

The new site, he said, would have about 100,000 burial plots to accommodate long-term demand, since the existing capacity at the Raudhatul Sakinah Islamic Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur is expected to meet demand for another four years.

"The need for burial plots in the Federal Territory demands that we expedite the project and provide sufficient facilities based on the projection that the number of deaths in the next five years will exceed 3,000 annually,” he said.

He said that while the project's development cost is high due to the need to resolve various issues, including replacing the burial ground and land acquisition, it is necessary for the benefit of local residents.

The Semenyih Bypass project is a strategic collaboration between KHK Land and the Federal Government, involving a four-lane route that will connect Semenyih to SILK Highway and six major expressways, including the Kajang-Seremban Highway (LEKAS) and the Cheras-Kajang Expressway (CKE).

This initiative is expected not only to ease local traffic congestion but also reduce travel time to Kuala Lumpur from 45 minutes to just 20 minutes.

-- BERNAMA