The Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications (BNSC) deputy director claimed that the assertion was a “perfect example” of how DAP used selective statistics, picking and choosing certain periods, while hiding important information to paint a bleak narrative to attack the government.
Citing statistics provided by Prasarana Malaysia Berhad two days ago, See-To said the overall daily ridership figures point to investments having paid off with more people taking public transportation than ever before.
According to the data, a total of 570,021 passengers used public rail services, comprising LRT (Kelana Jaya and Ampang lines), KTM Komuter, KL Monorail, KLIA Transit and KLIA Ekspres, on a daily basis from January to December 2016.
The number rose to 739,629, including 101,024 passengers who took the new MRT service, from January to August this year.
See-To said there were 30% more public transport users from January to August 2017 compared to 2016, with about 170,000 more people taking public transport on a daily basis.
“We are talking about 740,000 people daily in 2017 versus 570,000 in 2016. How is this a bad thing or a failure?” he said in a statement today.
“And this figure is expected to continue growing as people familiarise themselves with the services,” he added.
See-To also accused DAP of not mentioning that the drop in KL Monorail ridership was due to many of its trains being withdrawn in 2017 due to safety concerns.
“DAP also does not tell you that the drop in KTM Komuter ridership was due to the start of the Komuter double-tracking project that aims to improve service levels and reduce waiting times,” he said.
“To be fair, there was a period where traffic on some lines had fallen due to a fee increase at the end of 2015 – the first increase in 19 years which was to make public transportation more affordable and sustainable.
“However, the numbers have since more than recovered and are showing strong growth,” he added.
See-To also said Singapore increased its public transport fees every year, but Malaysia only did so once in two decades. “Thus the hike is more noticeable and headline-making,” he said.
In his statement on Oct 5, Ong said Prime Minister Najib Razak must make public rail transportation affordable, reliable and accessible.
Referring to statistics provided by the transport ministry on the daily ridership of the LRT, monorail and KTM Komuter from January 2014 to June 2017, and the new MRT Subang Jaya-Kajang (SBK) line over the past 10 months, he said the authorities must explain the drop in passengers.
He said the cost of taking the trains were not necessarily cheaper than driving, adding that the public were reluctant to use public rail transportation due to issues related to timing and reliability.
He also cited, as examples of measures that needed to be taken, the introduction of a monthly train and bus pass, avoiding delays and disruptions, and solving last-mile connectivity problems.