Tanjung Malim MP Chang Lih Kang has called on the government to refer the MRT 3 Circle Line project to the relevant parliamentary select committees.
Chang, in a statement today, said that this was to enable MPs to debate and deliberate on the project to safeguard the interests of the Malaysian public.
He questioned whether the MRT2 and MRT3 projects would perform well, given that MRT1 had failed to meet its targeted ridership since it began operating.
"As MRT1 has failed to achieve its targeted ridership since its operation, and modal share pattern shifts due to pandemic, will MRT2 and MRT3 perform as it claims?
"With (the) opening of the MRT2 Phase One around the corner, why is (the) government not investing to improve the connectivity, accessibility, and reliability of our existing rail infrastructures instead, which is deemed to be more cost-efficient?
"Megaprojects of such scale must be held accountable, especially during the post-pandemic era when the country is carefully bracing through crises," he said.
He added that the project should be referred to the PSC on Infrastructure Development and the PSC on Finance and Economics.
Further, he stressed that the government should not rush into implementing the MRT3 Circle Line project.
The tender process for the megaproject will be commencing this month.
Chang claimed that the megaproject's cost is expected to increase further if the ringgit's exchange rate continues to depreciate.
"Since March 2022, the ringgit has depreciated 4.3 percent.
"Has this factor been considered, and will (it) be absorbed without a cost overrun?
"Besides, what is the contingency mechanism to overcome (the) sudden price hike of building material?" he said.
Burdening the country for decades
Chang said the government's decision to construct the MRT3 now would probably burden the nation financially for decades.
He said the project is being implemented at a time where Malaysians are digging into their retirement funds to survive the Covid-19 pandemic's economic impact and rising inflation.
"As disclosed by EPF, RM100.9 billion were withdrawn by up to 7.3 million EPF members between February 2020 and April 2022.
"What is the rationale behind (the) government's decision to build the MRT 3 now, that will probably burden the country's fiscal status in the coming decades?
"It is expected the government must commit government-guaranteed loans to DanaInfra Nasional Berhad, the financing entity for MRT projects," said the Tanjung Malim MP.
When first initiated in 2017 under then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, the 50km-long MRT3 Circle Line project was estimated to cost between RM40 billion and RM50billion.
On March 15, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong revealed that the project's construction would involve five work packages, namely project management consultancy, three civil works, and one system works package.
The Pakatan Harapan administration had suspended the MRT3 project, but it was reinstated last year by the cabinet under the leadership of Muhyiddin Yassin after the Harapan government fell.
On March 4, this year, the current cabinet agreed to proceed with the MRT 3 Circle Line.
The circle line project was intended to link up the completed MRT1 running from Sungai Buloh to Kajang and the ongoing MRT2 running from Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya.
The third and final line in the Greater KL/Klang Valley Integrated Transit System would have covered areas surrounding, among others, Bandar Malaysia, Bukit Kiara and Sentul. - Mkini
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