00:00On the issue of MRT Corp, in terms of finance, it has been answered by the Ministry of Finance.
00:08But I want to emphasize that what needs to be looked at is the accumulated balance or the debt that has been accumulated
00:16is due to the rather high capex spending.
00:20It is known that to build a MRT line, it requires tens of billions of funds from the government.
00:29And indeed, what the government has invested to build the MRT line
00:34is not easy for us to recover in a short period of time.
00:38But the construction of infrastructure and public transport
00:43is beneficial to the country and the people over a long period of time.
00:49It is not only in terms of financial performance.
00:53But the construction of infrastructure such as MRT and LRT is to build economic growth,
01:00urban growth, and also to ensure good connectivity between one place to another
01:10and also to facilitate the movement of the people.
01:13In terms of finance, it is quite difficult for the government to recover what has been spent.
01:20Because our capital is quite low.
01:24Because we use quite low capital.
01:28Now, on top of that, we also provide subsidies for the purchase of monthly pass, only RM50.
01:35And the government is forced to spend RM200 million a year to implement that initiative.
01:42So I hope that many people, including MPs,
01:47will see that the context in the headlines in this country needs to be looked at from various angles.
01:54And not just to say that we cannot be sustainable.
01:58Indeed, the government knows that any investment in the construction capital
02:04will take a long time for us to recover and to improve over a long period of time.
02:10But in terms of ridership, in terms of the use of public transport,
02:15especially the MRT,
02:17I would like to explain what has been reported in the headlines in the country.
02:22They have taken a few examples that are perhaps not quite accurate in terms of the context.
02:30Because what has been reported, among them, is that the usage is only 10% of the target.
02:37That was in 2021.
02:392021 is the era of the COVID pandemic.
02:44And at that time, there was a continuous lockdown for months.
02:49So many people could not move.
02:51Of course, when there is a lockdown, the usage of MRT 1 and MRT 2, and all public transport,
02:57of course, will decrease.
02:59So we look at this graph.
03:01If we look at this graph, in 2019,
03:04the average daily usage for MRT 1 has reached RM205,000 for MRT Kajang Lai.
03:10But it has decreased in 2020 and 2021 to only RM61,000 on average per day.
03:17But after COVID passed, the average usage has increased again.
03:23In 2022, the average usage was RM139,000.
03:27In 2023, the average usage was RM204,000.
03:30And at this time, this year, the average usage is almost RM240,000 per day.
03:37So we see that compared to last year, this year has seen an increase of 18%.
03:43So if we estimate, by 2026,
03:48the usage or ridership for MRT 1 will increase and will reach almost 300,000 people per day for the usage of MRT 1.
04:00For MRT 2, MRT 2 must also be seen from the context.
04:04Because in 2022, MRT 2 has not been fully opened.
04:10It was only opened for the first phase, from Kwaza Damansara to Kampung Batu.
04:19It was only in 10 stations and did not reach Putrajaya.
04:23The opening of MRT 2 was only completed until Putrajaya Central in April.
04:32In March 2023.
04:35So in 2023, we have seen that the average usage is RM93,000 compared to RM23,000 in 2022.
04:45And for this year, it has increased to RM140,000 per day for the usage of MRT 2.
04:53So we expect that this increase will continue for the coming years.
04:59So we have to look at the context that the usage for MRT 1 and MRT 2 has increased.
05:08Although it has not reached the desired target, but the trend continues to increase.
05:23Indeed, that is one of the provisions that has been proposed.
05:26But given the current situation, the government has not yet desired to look back at the mining condition.
05:32This mining condition has been around for quite a long time, more than 10 years.
05:36It has never been raised, it has never been re-examined.
05:40So given the current situation that we see, there is indeed a pressure from the cost of living,
05:46the government will continue to increase the usage of public transportation.
05:49So there is no need to worry.
05:52MRT buses and MRT trains will be maintained for the time being.
05:57And we continue to raise the price.
05:59In addition, we are not only not raising the price, but we are also providing quite good incentives.
06:04So MYPAS 50 will continue.
06:08So we hope that the people, especially the residents of Lembah Kelang, will use the MYPAS this month.
06:16And we hope that more people will use the MYPAS this month.
06:20We will be better, because when the usage increases,
06:26then in terms of the average cost, there will be a reduction for the government.
06:31So we hope that more people in Lembah Kelang, especially, will use public transportation,
06:37especially our MRT and also buses.
06:41And we hope that this can also help to reduce the inconvenience.
06:45So we know that the inconvenience of public transportation is one of the major problems in Lembah Kelang.
06:51That's why I was late this morning and caused me to be disturbed in answering questions.
06:57So I am also a victim. I don't use an Outrider. I don't even have an Outrider.
07:03So the Minister and the Minister of Education are also like ordinary people.
07:07And I understand that the inconvenience in Kuala Lumpur is quite severe now.
07:13And indeed, we have discussed various measures to reduce the inconvenience of public transportation.
07:20But I admit that it has not been successful yet.
07:24But we will continue, such as increasing the number of bus stops, increasing the number of buses,
07:30improving our public transportation system,
07:34so that we can encourage more people to use public transportation.
07:40An industry expert has questioned the AGS classification of MRTs as lacking in financial stability,
07:47saying that the finding does not reflect the true nature and purpose of the company's existence.
07:53So do you see if there is any mismanagement of funds?
07:58I don't foresee what does it mean by mismanagement.
08:02Because what has been accumulated is the cost of construction.
08:07Of course, if we look at it from the perspective of sustainability,
08:10from the perspective of operation, it cannot be reimbursed.
08:14But what we have to remember is that the MRT is a government project.
08:18So a government project, when there is an off-balance sheet,
08:22it is guaranteed by the government. There is a government guarantee.
08:26So it does not mean that the MRT Corp cannot repay the debt.
08:30It does not exist. Because the MRT Corp is a GLC, a government-related company.
08:36And the debt in terms of construction costs is guaranteed by the government.
08:42It is paid by the Ministry of Finance so that there is continuous repayment.
08:48So it does not mean that it is not sustainable.
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