Local News

The MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) line will not suffer the same fate as the MRT3 a.k.a. Circle Line, which has been scrapped by the new government. The second MRT line will proceed, but MRT Corp has been tasked by the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) to find ways to lower the price of the project, Malay Mail reports. This was revealed by MRT Corp CEO Datuk Shahril Mokhtar after he met the CEP in KL today. “We are working on something, we will have a chat on how to find ways to reduce the cost further for Line 2 (MRT SSP Line). We exchanged ideas but the key is to reduce the cost so we could save the people’s money,” he said, adding that the line is over 24% complete now. The 52.2 km MRT SSP line will consist of 38.7 km of elevated tracks and 13.5 km of underground tunnels. The first phase of the line, which cost RM32 billion, is expected to be operational by the Q3 2021 before its full completion in late 2022. The first MRT Sg Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line was … [Read more...] about MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya line to proceed, but told to reduce costs by CEP

Here’s some good news. The nationwide road safety operation dubbed Ops Selamat 13 for this Hari Raya travel period showed a 9% drop in fatal accidents, with 189 cases recorded from 207 cases in the corresponding period last year, Bernama reports Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director SAC Shahrul Othman Mansor said motorcyclists and pillion riders were still the major contributors to the fatal accidents. He said the number of deaths also went down by 11%, with 200 cases recorded this year compared to last year’s 225. “The number of accidents causing severe injuries also decreased by 34 cases, which is 72 cases compared to 106 last year,” he said during a press conference in conjunction with a special operation at the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza. However, Ops Selamat 13, which ends today, saw the number of summonses issued increase by 40% to 201,835. The traffic cop said revealed that exceeding the speed limit was the top offence recorded, … [Read more...] about Ops Selamat 13

For the third week of floated RON 97 petrol pricing, motorists will need to pay RM2.59 per litre, which is precisely one sen less from last week’s RM2.60 per litre. The new price will take effect from midnight till June 27 when the next fuel price announcement is made. As before, RON 95 petrol and diesel prices remain unchanged as per the government’s decision to keeping it fixed – RON 95 continues to be priced at RM2.20 per litre and Euro 2M diesel at RM2.18 per litre, while Euro 5 diesel is priced at RM2.28 per litre at the pump. The finance ministry has previously stated that maintaining the price of RON 95 petrol and diesel for the rest of the year required subsidies that amount to RM3 billion. Reintroducing fuel subsidies was part of Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto. … [Read more...] about RON 97 petrol price down one sen this week – RM2.59

Parts of the River Brent will be transformed into a picturesque and ecologically valuable greenway by Ealing Council . The council has secured £375,000 of funding from the Mayor of London to transform underused and disconnected green space along the West London river. The Greenford-Gurnell Greenway project is one of six initiatives to benefit from a £2.1 million funding grant to improve green spaces across the capital as part of the push to make London the world’s first National Park City. This project will transform 18 hectares of land between Greenford Town Centre and Gurnell Leisure Centre, opening up routes and views along the riverside. Read More The latest news from across west London Reed beds, wetlands, meadows, woodland and orchards will be created to help boost biodiversity along the new greenway. The council says areas around the river will play an important role in reducing flooding and improving water quality. Residents will also be able to enjoy the … [Read more...] about Views along River Brent to be improved and nature trail created

The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project has been shelved, for now, but an alternative rail line that’s slower and much cheaper has been mooted. The Star reports that the proposal, which is to upgrade present rail infrastructure instead of starting a new one from scratch (as with the HSR) has been presented to the Council of Eminent Persons advisory panel. The daily’s sources say that the alternative proposal will cost the government RM20 billion, which is much lower than the HSR’s cost of between RM60 billion and RM70 billion. It would also save Malaysia some RM500 million in compensation to Singapore for cancelling the joint project. Using KTM’s existing double-track infrastructure, the proposed alternative is slower – 130 minutes from KL to Singapore versus the HSR’s 90 minutes, with a top speed of 200 km/h compared to 320 km/h. “Cost will be shaved by more than RM50 billion, which is 70% lower compared to the HSR. This … [Read more...] about Alternative KL-SG rail line mooted

The government’s decision to halt the practice of allowing non-governmental organisations to sell special number plates is to ensure that revenue goes into the right stream, according to transport minister Anthony Loke. He said that the losses incurred with the practice was difficult to ascertain. “It is difficult for me to estimate the leakages. A successful NGO would only have to pay the government RM1 million to get the plate, but the resale value could be roughly RM20 million per plate, so that itself is a huge loss of revenue to the government,” he said in an interview with The Star. Responding to transportation-related questions in the interview, Loke said that despite the cancellation of the MRT3 project, the government was still committed to public transport, and that there will be continued development on that front even if there was a new national car in the mix. “The new national car project will be further communicated by the prime minister. As far … [Read more...] about Special number plates cost government nearly RM20 million in lost revenue for each series

According to finance minister Lim Guan Eng, a new national car project as suggested by prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad cannot be supported by public funds and must be backed by the private sector instead. In an interview with Channel NewsAsia, Lim said he had discussed the matter with Mahathir following the prime minister’s return from Japan. “I told the prime minister that we don’t have the money, and he knows it … So it is not from public funds, it’s not like Proton, no,” said Lim. “If there are private parties who want to do it in Malaysia using their own money, I think that is something that would be worthwhile looking at – but not from public funds,” he added. Lim also said he believed the idea for a new national car project was provided by a private party but the government has yet to see a proposal so far. Previously, Mahathir stated the government is welcoming proposals for the project and that it will depend on … [Read more...] about No public funds to spare for new national car project; must be backed by private sector

There’s already a 50% toll discount in place for June 13-14, but PLUS has now announced that the Hari Raya discount will be extended at its highways till 4am on June 15 (Friday). The discount extension covers all toll transactions (except Class 2 and 3 vehicles) at all PLUS-operated highways including the North South Highway and East Coast Highway 2 (LPT2). The extension does not apply for toll payments at the Penang Bridge, Tanjung Kupang and Bangunan Sultan Iskandar toll plazas. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri from us at paultan.org. Drive safe. … [Read more...] about PLUS extending 50% toll discount to 4am on June 15

Recently put under review, the second phase of the Klang Valley Double Track (KVDT) project is now a “no-go” according to transport minister Anthony Loke. The Star reports that besides the timing of the tender award – just days before GE14 – the project’s high cost of RM5.9 billion is an issue. “The completion period given to the contractor was long and it was given out through direct negotiations. There was no open tender for the project. For now, it is a no-go for this particular tender,” Loke said. “A new tender will be called, but we cannot say how soon. From the technical viewpoint, KTMB has told us that we need the second phase to be implemented because the (current) track is unsustainable. But financially, the government has no means to support it. So, we will have to find out how to go about it,” he added. Phase two of the KVDT project involves 110 km of train tracks from the Kuala Lumpur main station to Klang, Salak … [Read more...] about Klang Valley Double Track phase two is a no-go

We’re into the second week of floated RON 97 petrol prices now, and it has come down by six sen to RM2.60 per litre, from last week’s RM2.66. The new price will take effect from midnight till June 20. Since it came to power, the Pakatan Harapan government has decided to maintain RON 95 petrol and diesel prices, which remain at RM2.20 and RM2.18 per litre (for Euro 2M, Euro 5 is 10 sen costlier), respectively. Maintaining prices means subsidising, as global oil prices have been on the rise of late. Finance minister Lim Guan Eng said last week that the government is subsidising 33 sen for every litre of RON 95 and diesel at their current prices. Without the subsidy, pump prices for RON 95 and diesel would have been RM2.53 and RM2.51 per litre, respectively. The government has allocated RM3 billion until the end of 2018 to finance the subsidy and to maintain the retail pump price of RON 95 and diesel for the rest of the year. Reintroducing fuel subsidies was part of … [Read more...] about RON 97 petrol price down six sen this week