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SEMENYIH — The dispute over the proposed Semenyih Bypass Road has also drawn scrutiny from Semenyih assemblyman Nushi Mahfodz, who is questioning why an earlier alignment was reportedly altered to pass through village land.
Nushi said he initially welcomed the bypass proposal as a potential solution to longstanding traffic congestion in the constituency.
However, after learning that the proposed four-lane road would affect privately owned land in Kampung Sungai Pening, he began seeking clarification from federal and state agencies as well as the developer.
"I also found that discussions over the project had reportedly begun as early as 2015 or 2016, while the original alignment through Puncak Damai had apparently been changed to cross villagers' land," he told Sinar Daily.
The Pas lawmaker said the reported change in alignment raised important questions about how the final route was selected and whether alternative options had been fully evaluated.
Nushi revealed that he had previously suggested upgrading an existing road linking Jalan Sungai Lalang, Kampung Naqsyabandiah and Bandar Teknologi Kajang as another way to ease traffic congestion in the area.
He stressed that residents were not opposed to development, nor to the proposed Muslim cemetery project that forms part of a broader land-swap arrangement involving Federal Government land in Hulu Semenyih.
Rather, he said, the central issue was whether acquiring villagers' land was necessary if alternative alignments could achieve the same objective.
"If acquiring the villagers' land is ultimately unavoidable, I believe the landowners must be treated fairly and with full consideration for their rights and dignity, rather than simply relying on the Land Acquisition Act 1960," he said.
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The proposed bypass forms part of a wider infrastructure package linked to the development of a Muslim cemetery intended to address burial needs in the district.
Residents of Kampung Sungai Pening have repeatedly emphasised that their objections are not directed at the cemetery project itself, but at the proposed road alignment and the acquisition of agricultural and inherited land.
The dispute has persisted for more than seven years, with affected landowners submitting memorandums, lodging objections and proposing alternative routes that they say could minimise disruption to the village while still improving connectivity.
On Jan 27, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the bypass was needed to address severe traffic congestion and that land acquisition issues would be resolved through replacement land and guarantees from the Selangor government.
For many residents, however, the fundamental question remains unchanged: whether the acquisition of village land can be avoided altogether if a viable alternative route exists.