KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — Former transport minister Anthony Loke said that the increasingly frequent breakdowns plaguing Kuala Lumpur’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) system were a sign that the key form of public transportation was in urgent need of an overhaul.

"KL LRT is an important mode of transport for local residents. Every day, there are around 300,000 people using it for their daily commuting.

"A long-term solution is to renew the system. The government needs to pay more focus to save the LRT system,” said Loke to reporters during Ceramah Kopitiam in Mantin in Negri Sembilan today.

Public transport provider Rapid KL this morning announced that it was temporarily suspending operations at 16 stations on the Kelana Jaya LRT Line for one week from today until November 15 (Tuesday).

An unspecified technical issue during rush hour yesterday evening left thousands of commuters stranded.

In response, the DAP secretary-general urged the Ministry of Transport to reimburse commuters affected by the service disruption.

"Their monthly ticket should be reimbursed since they can’t use the LRT in the next seven days.

"It is ridiculous, and the government should sincerely make amend towards this,” he added.

He suggested that more free bus routes should be arranged to help commuters, especially office workers who rely on public transport the most.

Loke added that Pakatan Harapan would give the LRT system the highest priority should it be given the mandate in the 15th general election (GE15).

"We would solve all these technical issues as soon as possible.

"Although LRT has bought new train cabins, this does not solve the issues that come from the system,” he added.

Following the service disruption, LRT’s operator Prasarana Malaysia Bhd said 73 feeder buses have been deployed to five different routes along the Kelana Jaya line to ferry commuters to their destinations as a temporary solution, and that more will be added later.