Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CU)_ Liew Chin Tong, deputy secretary-general of the DAP, stated that the government must find the political will to make driving private automobiles a luxury rather than a necessity. According to the Perling assemblyman’s latest Facebook post, the majority of Malaysians were forced to rely on their own transport since public transportation was nonexistent in many regions of the nation, including Kuala Lumpur, which has limited first-mile and last-mile links.
Liew Chin requested the government to increase the services of buses and other public transports such that at least forty to fifty percent of the population get access to dependable public transportation. With the ongoing rise in worldwide oil prices, this issue has become much more serious. Liew Chin explained, “Each time global petrol prices hike to US$100 per barrel, there will be a panic call to reduce subsidy bills. According to finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, with the current high price of crude oil, Malaysia’s petrol subsidies alone may reach up to RM30 billion this year, almost doubling what was originally budgeted for”.
While it is acceptable that the government needed to consider removing a blanket subsidy, Liew stated that simply increasing gasoline prices without providing adequate public transportation would force low-income earners to transit to motorcycles for their transportation requirements, thereby increasing the road accident rate. Liew Chin said, “Research has shown that each time petrol prices go up in Malaysia, the number of road deaths increases. There is a direct correlation between petrol hike and the number of people switching to motorcycles, and thus the number of road deaths and accidents”. But he did not provide any related statistics to support his claims.
According to him, providing adequate public transportation would decrease traffic congestion, as well as contribute significantly to the reduction of carbon emissions, which is a crucial factor in addressing climate change. Further, former transport minister Anthony Loke also noted that traffic congestion is one of the public issues that is to be addressed immediately by the government.
