TRANSPORT Minister Anthony Loke said commuters should not have unrealistic expectations on his plan to improve the public transport system. 

Give me time was the appeal the Seremban MP asked in a recent interview with Chinese radio station Ai FM and reported by DAP party organ The Rocket. 

Loke said he is no “Superman” to make them happen the day after he took charge of the Transport Ministry.

“It’s not that after changing the (transport) minister, all problems will be solved the next day. I am not Superman ... that everything will be alright with just one spot check on public transport,” The Rocket quoted him as saying.

“I want to give people one message: this minister will listen to the problems you face, understand your concerns and pains.

“Hence, I will focus on how to solve the problem, not that it can be solved immediately, but I will try hard to find the solution.

“This is the pressure I put on myself; whether it can be implemented or improved, it definitely needs some time.”

One of the improvements, he said, was to draw up key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the performance of the public transport sector. 

Taking the rail system in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley as an example, Loke said the KPIs will measure public transport operators’ improvement in critical areas of maintenance. 

“How far can a train run before it breaks down? If the mileage is higher before it breaks down once, it means that that standard is better.”

He said in neighbouring Singapore, the MRT only breaks down five minutes after journeying two million kilometres.

He said while the standard is way beyond what Malaysia’s LRT can achieve at the moment, it is nonetheless the type of benchmark Malaysia will use in the future. – January 17, 2023.