Railway union against privatisation of KTMB

KUALA LUMPUR: The Railwaymen's Union of Malaya has called on the government to revert Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) to its public status or maintain it in its present form, as all privatisation efforts so far have failed.

Union president Abdul Razak Md Hassan cited Konsortium Marak Unggul Sdn Bhd's management takeover between 1997 and 2002 as an example saying that the episode proved private companies were incapable of managing KTMB efficiently.

"It was a chaotic period in KTMB at the time and many non-executive staff were treated as "surplus" which led to conflicts between the union and management of Marak Unggul until their contract was terminated," he remarked in a statement on Friday.

He added that the union has been given to understand that MMC Corporation Berhad is conducting a due diligence on KTMB before its proposed offer to take over the company.

Abdul Razak emphasised that the union saw no advantage in MMC going ahead with the takeover and all the hype about a RM1bil capital injection was no big deal.

The sum was insufficient to buy a 38 set commuter which cost RM1.8bil, let alone the whole of KTMB, and it did not even include other costs or the multi-billion ringgit debt owed to the government, he asserted.

Furthermore, he elaborated that KTMB was a public company which provided a social service to the people through its cheap, comfortable and safe mode of transport, especially to those from the lower income group.

"The move to allow KTMB to be taken over is detrimental to the people, especially those in the low income bracket, as it would be impossible for a private entity to maintain existing fares and any increase would burden them," he said.

Abdul Razak hoped that the government would reject proposals by MMC or any other company to take over KTMB and instead focus on better services to the lower income group.

He registered the union's objection to MMC's due diligence and appealed to the Ministry of Finance to order a halt immediately for the sake of its staff and passengers.

-Bernama/maa.