JOHOR DAP chief Liew Chin Tong has refuted Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong’s claim that the Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) government was “anti-public transport”, pointing out that the Pakatan government had made significant contributions to the country’s public transport system when it was in power.
According to Liew, Pakatan had placed public transport under the purview of the Transport Ministry while noting that it was previously either placed under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department or the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Ministry.
He was referring to the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) which was set up by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government but was replaced by the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) in 2018 when Pakatan was in power.
“Taxi and bus licences were dished out to UMNO cronies. Successive transport ministers from MCA had no role in shaping public transport policy at all,” he said in a Facebook post.
“The Pakatan government did the right thing to take politics and cronyism out of public transport licensing by placing public transport under the Transport Ministry.”
Liew further noted that the My50 and My100 unlimited travel pass programmes introduced by former transport minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook were popular enough that it was continued during former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administrations.
“Loke was instrumental in negotiating the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project and keeping the costs down,” he said.
Liew, who is the Perling assemblyperson, also said that several issues which have been detrimental to public transport since Wee took over the transport portfolio.
These included the decrease in Rapid KL buses in operation from 1,000 to 400 per day, the stalling of the Klang Valley Double Tracking 2 (KVDT2) project, the reduction of the Interim Stage Bus Support Fund (ISBSF), the termination of the Rapid Kamunting and Rapid Kuantan bus services as well as the halt in operation of Cityliner buses under Konsortium Transnational Bhd in places such as Seremban and Kelantan.
According to Liew, these are undeniable facts, and that traffic congestion is real and felt by all Malaysians.
The only way out to reduce congestion, he reckoned, is to get more Malaysians to switch to public transport although public transport, especially buses, have to be subsidised and be provided with sufficient numbers, punctuality and comfort.
“I urge Transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong to engage in a calm, professional and rational discussion about public transport. His response to my statement borders on hysterical. Let us be calm, be cool,” Liew said.
“There is no need for Dr Wee to be defensive or hysterical. He should be calm, professional and rational. It is not about him. The massive traffic congestion is the problem for all Malaysians. So, let’s have a rational discussion.”
On Saturday (June 4), Wee called Liew a “hypocrite” over criticisms of traffic congestion and described the PH government, when it was in power, as “anti-public transport”.
The MCA president also claimed that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was “anti-public transport”.
In his allegation, he was quoted as saying that, “As the ‘anti-public transport’ government, PH had cancelled many public transport projects that may have solved traffic congestion. But now that it has become the opposition, isn’t it hypocritical for Liew to ask how to solve traffic congestion, to say the least?” – June 6, 2022
Main photo credit: Malay Mail
