Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that he would table proposals on how to implement Pakatan Harapan's promise of a RM100 monthly public transit pass during next Wednesday's cabinet meeting.
He said following discussions with the Public Land Transport Commission (Spad) today, he found that implementing the proposal would have "huge" financial implications for the government.
He said that as such, he would have to first refer the matter to the cabinet and the Ministry of Finance for approval.
"The decision on when and how we can implement this needs to be referred to and decided by the cabinet because it involves quite a large financial implication to introduce this policy of a RM100 unlimited-use pass.
"We already have options and mechanisms to implement this RM100 unlimited use pass for consumers.
"However, if we do introduce this RM100 pass, the government would have to subsidise and pay for a large expenditure," he told reporters at a press conference at Spad's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.
To a question, Loke declined to disclose how much the transit pass subsidy will cost the government, saying that he needs to report to the cabinet first before making the figure public.
Under Promise 8 of the Pakatan Harapan manifesto, the ruling coalition promised to improve the quality and coverage of land public transport systems.
This includes the gradual introduction of a public transport pass that can be used for all types of public transportation in “larger towns across Malaysia” that would cost users RM100 per month.
To a question whether there had been an analysis on how the pass would impact public transport ridership, Loke said the government is confident that it would.
He, however, said the government still needs to be careful with the cost implications.
Asked when the cost implications were realised, Loke said Harapan was aware of it even while drafting its manifesto.
He explained that Harapan then could not make accurate cost estimates as it was in the opposition at the time and could not access government records.
“It is only now that we can know these projections more accurately, how much would it cost and so on.
“All these costs will be reported to the cabinet and any cabinet decision that has financial implications would require comment from the Ministry of Finance,” he said.
RM12m to run GoKL
As for the Johor Baru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS), Loke said the signing of the joint venture agreement between Prasarana Malaysia Berhad and SMRT Corporation Limited will be postponed for about a month.
The signing was supposed to take place on June 30 but Loke said more time is needed to review the RM4 billion project that runs between Bukit Chagar and Woodlands. The project is to relieve congestion on the Johor Baru-Singapore Causeway.
Loke reiterated that the project will go on but the government is looking to tweak the terms of the agreement as well as expedite construction work.
On another matter, Loke said he was also briefed by Spad on the GoKL free bus service in Kuala Lumpur.
He said Spad had told him it costs RM12 million a year to run the 36 buses that serve 70,000 passengers per day. About 60 percent of the passengers are Malaysians and the remainder being foreigners including migrant workers and tourists.
Loke said Spad has recommended for the service to be continued adding that as this had financial implications too, the matter will be referred to the cabinet. -Mkini
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