KUALA LUMPUR: The government's RM2.8 billion grant to help Prasarana Malaysia Bhd improve its train and bus services will simply be "throwing good money to a bad situation" if there is no clear plan to tackle the overall issues faced by the public transport system, industry specialists warn.
They also believe that Prasarana is "very top heavy management" and that its "bloated" board of directors has turned it into a highly complex, beaureacratic organisation.
Transport consultant Dr Rosli Azad Khan said the large amount announced was not linked to any business plans or rectification measures for the local public transport.
"What is it that they are spending on? Is it in operating systems, rail maintenance or train maintenance? Or is it an expansion plan, lengthening the stations and adding more train sets? It is not very clear.
"It looks and sounds like a rushed job, which is not the right approach to take. Constant breakdowns are long standing problems, and simply throwing good money to a bad situation is not going to help," Rosli told the New Straits Times.
Prasarana president and group chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah recently said the allocation would be used to replace train equipment and increasing the number of trains and buses.
He said the RM2.8 billion given by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry of Transport included the entire public transport service under Prasarana's management.
The Kelana Jaya line, which often had service disruptions, urgently needed replacement equipment for trains.
However, Azharuddin noted that the global supply chain brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic had delayed the delivery of train replacements.
Transportation expert and consultant YS Chan said the country's oldest light rapid transit (LRT) line, which is from Ampang to Sentul and piloted by drivers, seemed to be "trouble-free" compared to the automated lines like Kelana Jaya.
"Automation is meant to save money and improve efficiency. However, if huge sums are spent on automation that breaks down, it would have been cheaper to employ drivers and provide employment than benefitting a few and losing foreign exchange," Chan said.
Meanwhile, Rosli pointed that Prasarana was a "very top heavy management" with very few people in the operations, which was essentially the lifeline of its entire service and operation.
He called for constant enhancement on capabilities and technical competency in the train operations.
"They should also have competent technical personnel to undertake maintenance too, and not to rely on outsiders to do it or outsource the maintenance of the tracks, systems and train sets. At the moment, maintenance works are outsourced," he said.
Rosli added that too many board members had made Prasarana into a highly complex, beaureacratic organisation, which he viewed as "really unnecessary".
There are many layers of management and board members between Prasarana and its subsidiaries such as Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus.
For example, at the parent company level, there are nine board members, while subsidiaries Rapid Rail, Rapid Bus and PRIDE have their own chief executive officers.