THE Transport Ministry (MOT) will improve the welfare and benefits of bus drivers in an effort to attract more people to join the field, its minister Anthony Loke said.

He said this is also to ensure there are enough bus drivers to meet sector’s demands.

“Other than that, Prasarana is going on roadshows to recruit more bus drivers, and we hope more people come forward to take up the job,” he told reporters after appearing as a panellist in a forum on ‘Political Stability in Hung Parliament’ at Sunway University, Petaling Jaya, today.

Loke said this in response to a recent media report where the Transport Workers’ Union had urged the government to resolve the shortage of bus drivers in the country by addressing problems such as high operating costs, low revenue and fierce competition that make it difficult for bus operators to recruit drivers.

Regarding the government’s decision to formulate a policy to eradicate the “Ali Baba” (rent-seeking) culture, which has a negative impact on the economy, Loke said there are approaches and policies that need to be drawn up.

He said it is necessary to ensure government resources and allocations used for the purpose are well spent and fully maximised in value.

“That is at the top of our minds. The most important agenda is to cut down rent-seeking (and at the same time) ensure value for money, which is something we’re looking forward to implementing to ensure better allocation of resources,” he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement that the government is formulating a policy to eradicate the Ali Baba culture, which has a negative impact on the economy.

Anwar said estimated losses caused by rent-seeking reach about 1% of GDP and they comprise procurement, licensing, permit and quota insurance, subsidy and grant issuance aspects. – Bernama, July 11, 2023.