RAISING fuel prices without providing adequate public transport for at least 40-50% of the population means many at the bottom or near bottom would be forced to switch to motorcycles, resulting in more road deaths and accidents, Liew Chin Tong said.

The DAP deputy secretary-general said research has shown that each time petrol prices go up in Malaysia, the number of road deaths increases.

“There is a direct correlation between petrol price hike and the number of people switching to motorcycles, and thus the number of road deaths and accidents,” he said.

“Massive efforts must be made through the expansion of coverage of buses and other modes of public transport so that at least 40-50% of the population have access to reliable public transport services.”

Putrajaya has announced that the retail price of RON97 will go up by 37 sen to RM4.70 per litre while the prices of RON95 and diesel will remain unchanged for the week from May 26-June 1.

The Finance Ministry has said the price of RON95 and diesel remained at RM2.05 per litre and RM2.15 per litre respectively, although the actual market prices of the two products have risen above their ceiling prices.

Liew was commenting on DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke’s call for the government to address the serious traffic situation in the country, especially in cities.

Loke had said traffic has seen a twofold increase compared with pre-pandemic times in 2019 as more people return to work, adding that this situation is not only isolated in the Klang Valley, as he experienced similar traffic congestion during a recent journey to Seremban.

“It took me two hours to drive back to Seremban when it was only a 60km journey,” Loke had said.

“What is happening? The government needs to get to the bottom of this. Malaysians cannot wait anymore,” Liew said, adding that each time global petrol prices increase to US$100 (RM438) per barrel, there will be a panic call to reduce subsidy bills.

“According to Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, with the current high price of crude oil, Malaysia’s petrol subsidies alone may reach up to RM30 billion this year, almost doubling what was originally budgeted for.” – May 28, 2022.