DEAR Prime Minister,

It appears that the Ministry of Transport has settled the issue for Penangites by endorsing the choice of a light-rail transit (LRT).

However, while the more astute among Penangites are asking the question whether a bus-rapid transit (BRT) is cheaper to run than LRT, a third option of autonomous-rapid transit (ART) is recommended by Penang Forum. 

Another civil society group, AnakMalaysia, has joined in the fray by stating that the LRT is more suited for Penang than the ART. 

Mr Prime Minister, the common denominator among the Penang government, MoT, Penang Forum and AnakMalaysia is that none of the four has provided some easy-to-digest quantitative analysis to back up its argument or opinion.

The attached link provides exactly that but the study is on the American scenario.

I am confident that the four parties have the resources to widen the database to include comparisons from other parts of the world and amortisation for infrastructure and other assets incidental to their particular choices. 

As our finance minister has been reported to say, we need to be smarter in how we spend. 

After all, it is the rakyat’s money and the call for accountability is its loudest mantra. – October 30, 2018.

* Chow Siew Cheong reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.