Looking at an exhibit of completed first- and last-mile projects in Petaling Jaya are (from left) Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran, Ng, MBPJ councillor Kusaaliny Mahendran and Mohamad Zahri. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star
LOCAL authorities should not depend solely on state or federal funding to implement small-scale projects that facilitated last-mile connectivity.
Selangor investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han said some covered walkways and pedestrian paths only cost between RM50,000 and RM100,000.
“This amount can be sourced from the council’s own budget. They should not be waiting for a larger budget all the time.”
He also urged local councils to plan and address missing links that could ease the journey of those using public transport.
Ng said this in his speech before launching the Petaling Jaya Urban Transportation Master Plan (PIP) 2.0 yesterday.
The plan outlined development strategies and initiatives covering traffic management, public transport, pedestrian walkways and connectivity.
“In the context of productivity and mobility solutions, we no longer wish to be affected by studies showing Selangor residents lose productivity due to time spent on the road.
“The most recent example is a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia report published in July 2025, which stated that Klang Valley motorists spent 580 hours annually being stuck in traffic congestion, and spent RM9,000 per year on vehicle maintenance and fuel,” he added.
Ng said all local authorities had been told to propose new pedestrian and micro-mobility routes that connect major public transportation hubs, and submit the proposals to the State Mobility Standing Committee.
This, he said, was in addition to submitting an updated inventory of the said routes to the Selangor State Economic Planning Unit.
“This effort is part of the state’s initiative to strengthen safe, connected and conducive pedestrian networks throughout Selangor.
“I also hope that existing pedestrian pathways under local authorities can be harmonised to be more user-friendly, including the removal of obstructions such as trees and signboards,” he said.
On the launch of the Petaling Jaya City Council’s PIP 2.0, Ng hoped it would serve as a reference for other local authorities in Selangor.
“Certainly, it will also become a key reference in the development of the upcoming Selangor Mobility Master Plan, which will adopt a holistic and sustainable approach to addressing mobility solutions,” he said.
Through this, he said, the state aimed to increase public transport mode share (percentage of trips using buses or trains versus private cars or walking) and ultimately resolve congestion issues.
Separately, at a press conference later, Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Zahri Samingon said a factory site in Kampung Dato Harun had been rezoned for housing, paving the way for the development of affordable Rumah SelangorKu units in Petaling Jaya.
He said the high-rise project on a 0.4ha plot was part of the city’s efforts to promote transit-oriented development (TOD).
TOD is a sustainable urban planning strategy that focused on creating dense, walkable, mixed-use communities centred around high-quality public transportation hubs.
