Najib hits out at opposition for belittling MRT project

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak (pix) today lashed out at the opposition for belittling the government’s effort in the implementation of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line project.
He said the project was introduced with the aim to enable the people living in urban areas to enjoy a more efficient public transport network and a better standard of living, hence boost the country’s economy.
“However, it seems like the opposition still likes to belittle every single thing implemented by the government for the people. Some of them are belittling the MRT project, saying that they can build it at a much lower cost,” Najib said in his blog post at najibrazak.com today.
Apart from that, the prime minister said the opposition had also undermined local expertise who had worked hard and succeeded in completing the project ahead of the scheduled time and at a lower budget.
“The funny thing is, there were reports about the financial scandals in the opposition-led states surfacing of late, including the purchase of a bungalow, house, Disneyland, as well as the (undersea) tunnel, arches and expressways, which cost much higher than necessary.
“Where all the money goes? Are they using it to build the MRT at lower cost?” Najib asked.
The prime minister said the people were always watching and they would not miss anything peculiar, be it in the federal government administration or in the opposition-led states.
“The bottom line is, the MRT Line 1 is now in place and the people are beginning to enjoy the facility,” he said.
Najib said he was also excited to ensure that more transformation would be made on the public transportation system in the country in the future.
The MRT SBK Line with its 31 station was completed at a total cost of RM21 billion, with the first phase between Sungai Buloh and Semantan commenced service on Dec 16 last year, while the second phase between the National Museum and Kajang was opened on July 17, this year.
The line serves a corridor with an estimated population of 1.2 million people.
The four-car train sets with the capacity of 1,200 passengers are set to serve some 400,000 passengers per day, with a headway of 3.5 minutes. — Bernama