Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (Reach) ingin menyatakan bantahan tegas terhadap projek pembinaan jalan pintasan Cameron Highlands yang sedang dilaksanakan oleh pihak Kementerian Kerja Raya Malaysia (JKR) dengan kos melibatkan ratusan juta ringgit wang pembayar cukai.
Sebagai sebuah pertubuhan alam sekitar yang telah berkhidmat di Cameron Highlands selama lebih dua dekad, kami berpendapat projek ini gagal menangani punca sebenar masalah kesesakan lalu lintas yang dihadapi oleh rakyat dan pelancong setiap hari, khususnya di kawasan Kea Farm.
Persoalan utama yang perlu dijawab oleh pihak JKR ialah, adakah projek jalan pintasan sepanjang beberapa kilometer ini benar-benar mampu menyelesaikan kesesakan kronik di Kea Farm?
Berdasarkan pemerhatian, kajian lapangan dan maklum balas penduduk tempatan, jawapannya adalah tidak.
Masalah sebenar di Cameron Highlands bukan kekurangan jalan pintasan, tetapi kegagalan menangani kesesakan di pusat tumpuan pelancong seperti Kea Farm yang kekurangan tempat letak kereta, sistem pengangkutan awam yang berkesan serta pengurusan trafik yang menyeluruh.
Kami melihat projek ini seolah-olah ‘merawat kanser di otak tetapi memberi ubat di kaki’. Punca masalah tidak disentuh, namun wang rakyat dibelanjakan dalam jumlah yang sangat besar untuk projek yang manfaatnya dipersoalkan.
Lebih membimbangkan, projek ini dilihat bakal memberikan nilai tambah yang besar kepada beberapa pemilik tanah persendirian yang mempunyai pegangan tanah yang luas di sepanjang jajaran jalan baharu tersebut. Dengan adanya akses jalan yang dibiayai oleh kerajaan, nilai tanah-tanah berkenaan akan meningkat dengan ketara.
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Rakyat Cameron Highlands berhak mengetahui siapakah penerima manfaat sebenar projek ini.
Adakah projek ini benar-benar untuk rakyat atau hanya menguntungkan segelintir pihak tertentu?
Sejak tahun lalu, Reach telah menghantar memorandum dan surat rasmi kepada Menteri Kerja Raya Alexander Nanta Linggi serta beberapa pegawai kanan kementerian bagi menyuarakan kebimbangan ini. Malangnya, sehingga hari ini, kami tidak menerima sebarang maklum balas rasmi terhadap persoalan yang dibangkitkan.
Kami juga telah mengemukakan aduan kepada Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) bagi memohon siasatan terhadap keseluruhan rasional dan pelaksanaan projek ini. Namun sehingga kini, tiada perkembangan yang dimaklumkan kepada pihak kami.
Keadaan ini menimbulkan persoalan besar mengenai ketelusan, akauntabiliti dan kesediaan agensi kerajaan untuk mendengar suara rakyat yang akan menerima kesan langsung daripada projek tersebut.
Reach ingin menegaskan bahawa kami bukan menolak pembangunan. Kami mengalu-alukan peruntukan dan pelaburan kerajaan di Cameron Highlands.
Namun pembangunan mestilah berdasarkan keperluan sebenar rakyat, mematuhi prinsip kelestarian alam sekitar dan memberikan manfaat kepada majoriti penduduk, bukannya kepada kelompok tertentu.
Sekiranya kerajaan mempunyai ratusan juta ringgit untuk dibelanjakan di Cameron Highlands, dana tersebut seharusnya disalurkan kepada projek yang lebih mendesak seperti:
- Penyelesaian kesesakan trafik di Kea Farn
- Sistem pengangkutan awam yang lebih efisien
- Kemudahan tempat letak kereta berpusat
- Pemulihan cerun dan kawasan berisiko tanah runtuh
- Pemeliharaan sumber air dan alam sekitar
- Infrastruktur yang memberi manfaat terus kepada penduduk tempatan.
Oleh itu, Reach memohon campur tangan segera Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim, kerajaan persekutuan, Kementerian Kerja Raya serta semua agensi berkaitan untuk mengkaji semula projek ini secara menyeluruh.
Kami juga menggesa supaya satu sesi libat urus awam yang telus diadakan bagi membolehkan rakyat Cameron Highlands mengetahui justifikasi sebenar projek ini serta menilai sama ada ia benar-benar mampu menyelesaikan masalah yang telah sekian lama membelenggu daerah ini.
Jangan jadikan Cameron Highlands mangsa kepada projek gajah putih yang mahal tetapi gagal memberikan penyelesaian kepada rakyat.
Dengar suara rakyat. Selesaikan masalah sebenar. Lindungi Cameron Highlands untuk generasi akan datang. – Reach
English version
Objection to the Cameron Highlands bypass road project
Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (Reach) wishes to express its strong objection to the Cameron Highlands bypass road project currently being implemented by the Public Works Department (JKR), a project that involves hundreds of millions of ringgit in taxpayers’ money.
As an environmental organisation that has served Cameron Highlands for more than two decades, we believe this project fails to address the real causes of the traffic congestion faced daily by residents and visitors, particularly in the Kea Farm area.
The fundamental question that JKR must answer is this: will a bypass road spanning only a few kilometres truly solve the chronic traffic congestion in Kea Farm?
Based on our observations, field assessments and feedback from local residents, the answer is clearly no.
The real problem in Cameron Highlands is not the lack of a bypass road. Rather, it is the failure to address congestion at major tourist hotspots such as Kea Farm, where inadequate parking facilities, the absence of an efficient public transport system, and poor traffic management continue to create serious bottlenecks.
We view this project as a case of ‘treating cancer in the brain by applying medicine to the foot’. The root cause of the problem remains untouched, yet an enormous amount of public funds is being spent on a project whose effectiveness is highly questionable.
Even more concerning is the perception that this project will significantly increase the value of large privately owned land parcels located along the proposed alignment. By providing government-funded road access, the value and development potential of these lands will inevitably rise.
The people of Cameron Highlands have every right to know who the real beneficiaries of this project are. Is this project genuinely for the benefit of the public, or does it primarily serve the interests of a select few?
Over the past year, Reach has submitted memorandums and official letters to the works minister and several senior officials within the ministry to raise these concerns. Unfortunately, we have not yet received any official response to the issues highlighted.
We have also lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), requesting an investigation into the rationale, planning and implementation of this project. However, no updates or feedback have been provided to us thus far.
This situation raises serious questions regarding transparency, accountability and the willingness of government agencies to listen to the voices of the people who will be directly affected by the project.
Reach wishes to emphasise that we are not against development. We welcome government investment and development initiatives in Cameron Highlands.
However, development must be based on the actual needs of the people, adhere to principles of environmental sustainability, and provide benefits to the majority of residents rather than a privileged few.
If the government is prepared to spend hundreds of millions of ringgit in Cameron Highlands, such funds should be directed towards projects that address more urgent needs, including:
- Solving traffic congestion in Kea Farm
- Establishing a more efficient public transport system
- Developing centralised parking facilities
- Carrying out slope rehabilitation and landslide risk mitigation work
- Protecting water resources and the natural environment
- Implementing infrastructure projects that directly benefit local residents
Reach respectfully calls on the prime minister, the federal government, the Ministry of Works, and all relevant agencies to review this project comprehensively.
We also urge the authorities to conduct a transparent public engagement process so that the people of Cameron Highlands can understand the true justification for the project and evaluate whether it is genuinely capable of resolving the long-standing issues faced by the district.
Do not allow Cameron Highlands to become a victim of another white elephant project – one that is costly, environmentally damaging, and incapable of delivering a meaningful solution for the people.
Listen to the people. Address the real problems. Protect Cameron Highlands for future generations. – Reach
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
