Puchong residents are trapped within the confines of the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP), Kesas and the New Pantai Expressway and have to fork out RM1.60 to exit at any of the tolls.

During a press conference recently, Gobind pointed out that the profits were RM11.31bil for the LDP, RM5.61bil for Kesas and RM3.85bil for the NPE.

“In total, the profits were RM20.77bil. The government must explain these figures and why such huge profits have been agreed at the expense of the rakyat. Any profit should be passed down to the people in the form of reduced tolls,’’ Gobind said.

Gobind said he had written two letters to the Works Ministry asking for copies of the concession agreements but had yet to receive a reply.
Raking it in: A file picture of a long line of cars waiting at the LDP toll plaza.

He added that during the Parliament session on July 10, the Works Minister, in a written answer, had said that the agreements were classified as official secrets under the Official Secrets Acts 1972 and therefore could not be made public.

“However, a week earlier the deputy minister told parliament that the ministry had made a decision that the agreements could be made public. There is a very serious contradiction here,’’ he said.

Gobind said he was also concerned because the deputy minister had also informed parliament on the cost of building the three highways, a figure that was considerably lower than the figures given by the Works Minister in his written answer.

“The minister should encourage transparency and forward me copies of the toll concession agreements. The rakyat demands to know why they are paying high toll rates when the highway concessionaries are reaping billions in profits,’’ Gobind said.

It is also learnt that the three highway concessionaries have projected a higher profit margin from 2008-2030 based on the new toll rates on the highways soon.

“Instead of looking at ways to reduce the burden of the residents, the government is only causing more hardship. We ask for the agreements to see if there are ways the toll collection could be reduced. This is a genuine call by the residents to help resolve a big problem,’’ Gobind said.

In order to clear the doubts raised by the conflicting information, Gobind said he was prepared to take the matter to court.

“However, we hope it would not come to that stage as the relevant parties could come together for the benefit of the residents,’’ he said.

Hardware dealer Ben Toh from Bandar Puteri said due to his nature of business, he sometimes makes more than 10 trips daily out of Puchong.

“My toll expenses alone are more than RM600. Since most of us are middle-class earners, the government should implement a one-way toll collection or alternatively make toll payments more affordable,’’ said Toh.

Pensioner Chee Kee Sang echoed Toh’s sentiments, urging the government to react positively to their request.

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Oh, and it seems there will also be a hotel been built on one of the shoplots and this will make that area pretty congested but pricey in the future. Better get a unit asap.

I have some parts of their brochures below for your ref.

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During peak hours, the said roads would be packed with vehicles inching their way forward.

Motorists either have to learn to live with the jams, or start hunting for alternative routes.

Here, StarMetro identifies three routes motorists can use to avoid the congestion.

Two of these routes are also toll-free, adding to the savings of motorists.
Stuck: A file picture of the jam along the LDP during rush hour.

Alternative Route 1

This route comes in handy when you need to avoid the particular stretch of the LDP from IOI Mall in Bandar Puchong Jaya to the Giant Hypermarket at Bandar Puteri Puchong.

It takes you through three connected residential areas using inner link roads.

Motorists first have to get onto Persiaran Puchong Jaya Selatan, either from the LDP (before Binary University College) or Lebuhraya Sungai Besi-Puchong (after D’Cahaya Apartment).

Turn into Jalan Serindit will lead motorists to the newly-constructed link road connecting Persiaran Wawasan at Pusat Bandar Puchong Jaya.

At the end of the link (where you will see a height barrier), make an immediate left turn and pass by blocks of apartments on the left.

At the T-junction, turn left into Persiaran Indra and SK Pusat Bandar Puchong 2 will be on the left. Go straight until the end of the road and make a right turn.

At the traffic lights, motorists can either turn right into Lebuh Puteri to get back to the LDP, or left to the Taman Industri Pusat Bandar Puchong and connect back to Jalan Puchong.
Alternative Route 1: The alternative route from Bandar Puchong Jaya Selatan to Bandar Puteri Puchong will lead you to this T-junction. Turn right to get to Lebuh Puteri to get back to LDP, or left to Taman Industri Pusat Bandar Puchong, and connect back to Jalan Puchong.

Alternative Route 2

This route will take you to Serdang from Bandar Kinrara, without the need to travel on the LDP.

But be warned, as the road conditions are not perfect as there are quite a number of potholes and uneven patches.

This route might seem complicated at first and it takes almost double the time compared with cruising on the rather straightforward LDP.

From Sungai Besi-Puchong Highway, get onto Jalan Kinrara 6 with the Kinrara Gold Club on the left and the Giant Hypermarket on the right.

Go straight until the end of the road and turn right at the traffic light onto Jalan Puncak Bukit Jalil.

Head on straight and take a left turn into Persiaran Puncak Jalil 1. Go straight and turn right at the T-junction.

The road curves with a sharp left turn. Follow the road and it will lead to a roundabout.

Take the 9 o’clock turn (first left turn) and get onto Persiaran Kota Perdana. Go straight until the traffic light. Bazaar Rakyat PKPS can be seen from the junction.

At the traffic light, turn left to head to Kompleks Pasar Borong Selangor, Equine Park, Serdang Jaya and Taman Bukit Serdang or turn right to connect back to the LDP to head towards Cyberjaya and Putrajaya.
Route 3: Turn right underneath this elevated ramp onto Persiaran Puchong Perdana to get to USJ.

Alternative Route 3

This detour will get you to USJ should the stretch of the LDP before the Puchong Barat Toll Plaza be congested.

Those coming from Bandar Puteri Puchong will pass by Tractors on the left and should head towards the elevated ramp with Taman Puchong Intan on the right.

Go under the ramp and turn right onto Persiaran Puchong Perdana at the traffic light. Head towards the 12 o’clock direction (go straight) at the first roundabout.

Take the 3 o’clock turn (third left turn) at the next roundabout and follow the road until the end.

This narrow road will lead you through some village houses and at the end of the road, turn left and to get back on the LDP, heading towards Putra Heights and USJ.

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Fish in the lake died and the stench reached the residential areas nearby, making the residents both worried and angry.
Tranquil: A resident enjoying the scenic sight at the lake.

“We bought the houses because we believed that there will be a beautiful lake in the area, as illustrated in the brochures,” said resident Gerard Lim, who brought up the matter last year.

The Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) had taken action against the developers for illegal dumping and the fine was used to clean up the lake.

The developer of Taman Mutiara Puchong has also landscaped the edge of the lake with perimeter fencing, benches, shrubs, lawns and a proper walkway of about 300m.

There is also a platform for the residents to view the scenery.

Lim said the residents were pleased with the current state of the lake.

“On a sunny day, the sunset here is very beautiful,” he said, gesturing at the shimmer of sunlight on the lake.
Neat: The lake has 300m-long walkway with benches and plants lining the sides.

During StarMetro’s visit to the lake recently, birds could also be seen gliding on the water surface in search of fish.

However, Lim pointed out that soil had eroded at certain spots of the lake’s edge.

“Land reclamation was done previously on the lake, but the foundation was clearly not strong enough,” he said.

The residents association is hoping that MPSJ could put rocks or plant suitable trees along the lake to hold the soil together to prevent further erosion.
In need of attention: Soil erosion at certain parts of the lake edge at Taman Mutiara Puchong.

“The area is dark at night so we hope streetlights can be installed, too,” Lim said.

He added that there were still some irresponsible contractors who would climb over the barrier to throw debris into the lake.

“The residents association has to be alert to prevent these cases from happening,” he said.

MPSJ president Datuk Adnan Md Ikshan said the council would first determine whether the said problems should be tackled by the developer. “If not, we will look into the matter,” he said.

Thanks to former Kinrara assemblyman Dr Kow Cheong Wei, the link road between Bandar Puchong Jaya Selatan and Pusat Bandar Puchong is now completed, although three months behind schedule.

Kow, who was also a former Subang Jaya Municipal Councillor, had initiated the project during his term.

He was invited to officially open the road last Friday although the road was ready for use since June 30.
An honour: Dr Kow (seventh from left) cutting the ribbon to officially open the link. With him are representatives from residents associations.

The 0.3km two-way 6m wide road links Jalan Serindit in Bandar Puchong Jaya Selatan and Persiaran Wawasan in Pusat Bandar Puchong.

Kow said besides easing the traffic on the congested Dama-nsara-Puchong Highway (LDP) during peak hours, the road could also hopefully help to enhance the economic life at the two Puchong townships and also Bandar Puteri Puchong.

“The businesses are moving towards Bandar Puteri Puchong now as the road access is inconvenient here in Bandar Puchong Jaya,” he said.

The new link will also serve as an emergency gateway to neighbouring areas when the LDP is jammed whenever there are serious accidents.

Kow said the MPSJ would wait for the road to stabilised before building road shoulders.

Meanwhile, IOI Properties is said to be constructing a link road between Puchong Hartamas and Bandar Puteri Puchong.

It is believed that another developer, Capital Land, is also responsible for building the link together with IOI.

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The July 3 peak in oil and subsequent drop of more than $20 a barrel has injected life into what had been a stock market in rapid decline, raising hopes that the worst of the bear market has passed.

The drop in oil prices is welcomed by consumers and U.S. companies weighed down by the economic fallout from the housing bust and credit crunch. Lower oil prices have also lessened fears that inflation would spiral out of control.

Stocks began rallying as Wall Street became convinced that the huge oil run-up — oil was up 51% this year at its $145.29 record close — was faltering.

The Dow Jones industrials bottomed on July 15 at 10,963, almost 23% off the October high and solidly in bear market territory, defined as a drop of 20% or more. But since then, the Dow has been on a tear, rising 670 points, or 6.1%, and renewing hope that this downturn won’t turn into a megabear, such as the 2000-02 killer that sliced stock prices in half.

“Oil is the key driver of the stock market right now,” says Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial.

Better-than-expected profits, on average, from the nation’s banks and brokerages, and the government’s moves to make sure federally sponsored mortgage companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae keep functioning, have also given stocks a boost.

Crude oil, which fell another $3.98 to $124.44 a barrel Wednesday, is now down 14% from its high, approaching its own bear market.

Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates, says a number of factors are driving down the price of crude. One of the biggest, he says, is big investors, such as hedge funds and pension funds, pulling money out of the oil market amid signs of weaker demand in the USA and overseas. The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that gasoline demand fell 2.4% the past four weeks, a sign higher prices are cutting into usage.

“It is the first time in a couple of years that big institutional investors are selling on perceptions of weaker demand,” says Ritterbusch.

Buyers also stepped away from oil Wednesday when it became clear Hurricane Dolly did not pose a threat to oil platforms. Also, a stronger dollar is making oil, which is priced in dollars, more expensive for those using other currencies.

For the rally to last, “We need oil prices and interest rates to keep going down and house prices to stop going down,” says ITG economist Bob Barbera.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil and gasoline inventories dropped on the week, but oil prices lowered, an indication that domestic oil demand is waning.

On the exchange, crude oil prices fell $1.61 Wednesday to $122.21 per barrel. Heating oil prices rose 0.0055 cents in late trading to $3.5513 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices fell 0.0076 cents to $3.1875 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.207 cents to $12.428 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline reached $3.983, up from Tuesday’s price of $3.978, AAA said.
(Source: UPI )

Live Crude Oil charts here

There was a Terrible Accident near IOI yesterday (at the underpass).

PETALING JAYA: A trailer, believed to have gone out of control, smashed into 13 vehicles at a junction here, killing a 64-year-old man and seriously injuring four others.

In the 1.45pm incident yesterday, the trailer heading for Puchong Jaya from Kinrara was said to have lost control and rammed into a traffic light before ploughing into seven cars, a lorry and five motorcycles from the opposite direction.

The accident caused cars and motorcycles to be dragged almost 50m.

A Myanmar national, U Kwan Lin, 64, was killed when the car he was driving was pinned under the trailer.

Kwan Lin died at the scene. The four who seriously injured were all motorcyclists.

A survivor, who only wanted to be known as Yap, 27, said he heard a loud crash and felt a strong impact, before his car was flung forward.

“There were about 20 vehicles waiting at the traffic light when we were hit by the trailer,” he said.

Police were forced to close the roads leading to the junction, which caused a three-hour traffic jam.

A police spokesman said it took fire department personnel 30 minutes to extricate the body from the wreckage.

“Initial investigations show that the trailer was speeding and lost control before reaching the junction,” he said.

He said the trailer’s driver, who was not injured in the accident, has been detained to assist in investigations.

He added that the injured, including a policeman, were taken to the Putrajaya and Serdang hospitals.

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