Resume work on RTS project ASAP, government urged

JOHOR BARU: The government should focus on resuming work on the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) project as soon as possible instead of asking for further extensions, a monitoring group said.

RTS monitoring group representative Dr Tee Ching Seng asked why the Transport Ministry needed a one-month extension, and wanted to know what the ministry had done over the six months’ initial extension period granted by Singapore.

He said Transport Minister Anthony Loke had pledged to keep to the Sept 30 deadline.

“Even with Singapore granting the one-month extension until Oct 31 without Malaysia having to pay any compensation, we should not be proud of it. It is really a shame!” he said yesterday.

Tee, who is the MCA International Communication and Diplomacy bureau chief, claimed Malaysia would have to be ready to pay a compensation of about RM200mil if the project was aborted.

“Whether the project will be continued or called off, this question remains unanswered by the government, ” he said, adding that Loke should be aware of the consequences.

Tee said that in the first meeting of the Special Committee on Congestion at the Johor Causeway chaired by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister had approved four measures to alleviate the congestion.

These include widening and extending the Causeway, building a covered pedestrian walkway, creating a shipping lane and expanding the existing entry points, he added.

“The RTS proposal was not mentioned. The people have given 15 months worth of patience and RM2mil suspension fee for the Transport Ministry to study the project’s scope, framework and funding, ” he added.

He appealed to the government to stop “lagging” and adopt the quickest and most efficient way to alleviate the congestion.

Johor Indian Business Association (JIBA) chairman P. Sivakumar backed Tee’s views.

“The government needs to be transparent as to why the one-month extension is needed. This is New Malaysia and why delay a project which benefits so many people, ” he said.

He called for no further extension to the RTS project, urging it to resumed as soon as possible.

The Star had reported that many people were anxious about the fate of the RTS project.

Traffic snarls at the Johor Causeway and Second Link are worsening, especially with the increasing volume of vehicles using both links, and during weekends and public holidays.

At present, more than 367,000 people use the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex daily, with 254,000 people using it at the Johor Baru side while 113,000 people use the Second Link daily.