KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 – Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying today clarified that the “losses” incurred by MRT Corp was the cost that has already been spent for the construction of the Mass Rapid Transit Line 1 (MRT1) and MRT2’s infrastructure.
She told the Parliament that the costs have been audited by the company's external auditor every year, and the losses were not due to MRT Corp’s mismanagement.
“Prasarana Malaysia Berhad is the operational operator appointed by the Government for MRT1 and MRT2.
“Accordingly, fare revenue is collected by the Prasarana and used to cover the daily operating and maintenance expenses of the Prasarana,” she said in the closing speech of the AG report debate.
On the claim of low daily ridership, Lim said the number of daily passengers on the MRT1 line has gone up from 250,000 to 270,000 passengers every day.
“For example, on May 29, 2024, the number of passengers on the MRT1 route reached a total of 274,302 passengers. This is an increase of 20 per cent from the passenger rate before Covid-19,” she said.
In an effort to further increase the number of passengers, Lim said Prasarana is in the process of increasing the number of new buses to strengthen first and last mile connectivity.
In the 2024 AG report published last week, it said that MRT1 and MRT2 have failed to meet their targets for daily ridership.
It also said that MRT Corp's financial position remained unstable due to reliance on government funding for the construction of rail infrastructure.
