Move to disband SPAD receives widespread praise

PETALING JAYA: The disbanding of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has been well received by industry stakeholders with most saying it was a good decision by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Malaysian Public Transport Users Association (4PAM) president Ajit Johl said the move to have SPAD's functions to be fully under the Transport Ministry (MOT) will allow for better delivery.
"We have always been advocating for the commission to report to MOT and we thank the Cabinet for acting quickly on the matter.
"Disbanding SPAD and having it directly under the MOT will ensure greater transparency, more efficient management and less interference from those with political interests," Ajit told theSun.
He added the Cabinet could also consider the association's call for the creation of a Public Transport Tariff Review Committee and Public Transport Ombudsman.
Agreeing with Ajit's sentiment, Big Blue Taxi Facilities Sdn Bhd adviser Datuk Shamsubaharin Ismail said it was a right and timely decision by Mahathir as such a move ultimately disallowed the commission further opportunity to operate independently.
"It is very hard to work with a commission which is politically driven internally," Shamsubaharin said.
Shamsubaharin hoped that the ministry will call for a roundtable discussion soon with all the industry players particularly those from the taxi industry so that a holistic solution on how to best improve the industry can be formulated.
Meanwhile, sources from the commission said they are awaiting further information or details of the disbanding, thus, they are unable to respond to the announcement.