Is there a need for MRT3?

 

Current obsession with public transport has taken us to another level. Decision-makers were very quick to seize the opportunity for an off-budget project called MRT3 on the pretext that a public transport system was required urgently to tackle Klang Valley’s road congestion.

The argument that I have heard is that once built, the passenger demand will be created by the car owners and users.

How simplistic. Is it true that urban passenger demand is derived in this manner?

Also, there is a long list of related questions; is this really a priority project in the first place? Where are all the studies? Why is it so expensive? Where is the cost breakdown? Why are we spending RM50 billion extra on a piece of infrastructure that we may not need?

Off budget public spending

Some reports say the country does not have such massive public funds to be spent on a piece of infrastructure that serves so few.

The allocations for the project have been made on an off-budget basis, similar to the approach taken for 1MDB, MRT1, MRT2, LRT and ECRL, meaning the budgets did not go through parliament for debate and approval.

Some are asking if this is another LCS (littoral combat ship) controversy in the making.

The crux of the matter is, why are we continuing to prop up Klang Valley but not the rest of the country?

Every new piece of infrastructure, such as toll highways, KVDT, LRT, MRT, Merdeka 118, TRX, etc. is concentrated in the Klang Valley as if the rest of the country is not important or that a more balanced regional development is not needed.

What about Penang and Johor Bharu which are equally congested, partly due to poor planning and excessive land development but also due to limited allocation of resources? Most of the plans are car-centric and lack focus on public transport.

There are also neglected areas like Kota Kinabalu and Kuching which are rapidly growing in terms of property development but receive scant attention when it comes to public transport infrastructure and facilities. Mobility issues remain high on the development agenda for these areas.

It is disheartening to see schoolchildren in Sabah and Sarawak having difficulties getting to school because of a lack of facilities as simple as a pedestrian bridge or walkway that has not been planned and built for them.

MRT1 and MRT2

The fact is that the Klang Valley has received massive spending on basic infrastructure including electricity, water supply and 5G communication facilities.

On top of that are the LRT2 extension and LRT3 on which more than RM40 billion was spent in the last 10 years.

In the scramble to spend public funds, MRT1 was developed at a cost of more than RM50 billion in the same period.

It was conceived on the false assumption that this particular line would serve about 400,000 passengers a day.

The same team also predicted that road congestion along this corridor would be a thing of the past once MRT1 was up and running.

Today, we know that this is hardly the case.

MRT1 struggles to attract 100,000 passengers daily while traffic congestion along the corridor prevails and commuters are up in arms over poor facilities despite the massive amount of public funds being spent.

Ironically, after almost four years, this brand new piece of infrastructure (MRT1) is still not functioning at full capacity. Broken escalators, faulty lifts and systems failure are common.

First mile and last mile issues remain unresolved, which put off many potential passengers.

At many stations there are still no car parks, in contrast to the “park and ride” concept that the original planners talked about.

Despite all the shortfalls experienced by MRT1, the decision-makers went ahead with MRT2 construction and now, we are faced with MRT3.

It goes to show how pathetic our planners are, and the poor decisions that have been made by those in power.

No maintenance culture

The issue of a maintenance culture, or lack of, in transport infrastructure and facilities management is real and worrying.

As we purchase overseas technologies for these transport facilities, we have to continue to rely on overseas suppliers to maintain them at an equally exorbitant cost.

It’s not just the materials that we have to import but also the technical expertise. Why are we not developing our own talents and resources?

To have complete control over the management and operation of these facilities, Malaysia must train its own people for the tasks and not rely on foreign experts or technicians.

What has happened to the transfer of technology policy that we have talked about for years?

We paid for all these technologies and yet we have to continue to call the suppliers back together with their technical experts and technicians.

What did we pay for in the first place?

Didn’t we give any thought to the maintenance of these expensive infrastructure and facilities when they were built in the first place?

The cases of a few LRT incidents some months ago point toward the lack of thought given to maintenance and smooth operation.

Instilling a strong maintenance culture among the Malaysian staff and workers, and training them towards this, must be given the main priority at all the rail networks.

Although it can be deduced that rail is the transport of the future, there is no point in building more LRT or MRT facilities if Malaysians cannot maintain the current ones well. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.