Malaysians have raised concerns over the state infrastructure in the country after a couple of public incidents that have gone viral, namely the service disruptions to LRT trains in the Klang Valley and the flooding of the Bukit Jalil Stadium during a football match against Bahrain.
Some even called out the former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq and blame him for the waterlogged field in Bukit Jalil National Stadium during the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.
In response to the critics, Syed Saddiq explained the malpractices of Malaysian leaders who often spend millions or billions in starting and completing prominent public projects but then neglect to care for them afterwards.
Stadium jadi swimming pool, saya pula yang disalahkan 😅
— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) June 14, 2022
Ini jawapan saya. pic.twitter.com/LMmjK8ojUf
As a result, we are seeing the ageing and poorly maintained public facilities, such as the LRT stations.
Meanwhile, Twitter user @HarizRahim also agreed with Syed Saddiq and said Malaysia lacks a maintenance culture. In a thread, he took netizens on a tour around the Subang Alam LRT where the station was seen in a state of disrepair, including having dimly lit walkways, wall fans that don’t work at all, leaking roofs, and roads with non-functioning street lamps.
Cakap pasal maintenance culture, aku nak open table jap.
— HRH The Duke of Taipan (@HarizRahim) June 15, 2022
Ni berkenaan salah satu stesen LRT KJ Line yang aku pernah naik waktu malam. Aku nak korang judge sendiri keadaan dia.@AskRapidKL @SyedSaddiq@transitmy @weekasiongmp @syahredzan @nektime_
[Bebenang] https://t.co/Alf24myFR1 pic.twitter.com/T8KBH0ncW5
He also called some parts of the station as looking akin to something out of a “zombie movie”, and ultimately agreed with Saddiq on his view of Malaysia having a lousy maintenance culture.
The thread has since gone viral, garnering thousands of retweets and likes. Netizens also agree with his point that Malaysian leaders not doing enough to keep up the standards required for well-functioning public infrastructure.
Some also pointed out how the escalators or lifts at the LRT stations are constantly out of service.
“Billions of Ringgit in projects, but 10-year maintenance plans go down the river. As a daily user of these facilities and services, it’s a real pain whenever escalators or lifts are down,” said a netizen.
Maintenance istana dan rumah perdana menteri lebih penting. Pasal rakyat memang tak peduli. Ramai masih sokong sebab tak hadap masalah ni hari-hari.
— AK M (@ark_mdr) June 16, 2022
Nonetheless, it is not surprising that Malaysians voicing their discontent over the public transport system and its facilities as more people are relying on public transport to commute to work and back home.
Perhaps, it is time for the authorities to think about the priorities and consider improving the public amenities and services as it is clear that there are too many things that do not work as they intend.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
