KUALA LUMPUR: The Transport Ministry has made impressive achievements in the land, maritime and air transport sectors within the first 100 days of “Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia” (AKM) or Malaysian Family Aspirations.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the ministry carried out its 100-day AKM tasks smoothly and stepped up its responsibilities since Sept 1 to ensure that it achieves its three key performance indicators (KPIs).
“To boost the gross domestic product (GDP) and national income, we have to solve all the backlog – this is a big challenge, and I set a target of RM3.53bil.
“Within the first eight months of 2021, we obtained monthly revenue collection of RM292.5mil per month, but my target is to reach RM400mil per month within 100 days from today.
“Before the 100-day AKM, we managed to do only 48,000 transactions of motor vehicle licences a day, but after the 100-day period, we have increased transactions up to 96,500 a day and cleared the backlog.
“So far, 85% of the backlog has been dealt with,” he said on Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s (RTM) Selamat Pagi Malaysia programme yesterday.
Bernama reported Dr Wee as saying he was impressed with the achievement of the Road Transport Department as it had collected RM3.34bil, an achievement of almost 95%, and he believed that the target of RM3.53bil could be met within the stipulated time.
He said he was also proud of maritime achievements as the performance of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor and Port Klang continued to improve.
“These two ports are very important. We managed 9.85 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in terms of loading or handling containers at the PTP last year, and so far, have reached 9.94 million TEUs.
“For Port Klang, I think we will achieve the highest record compared to the previous year because so far we have got 12.11 million TEUs, and according to projections, we will reach 13.8 million TEUs by year-end – above pre-Covid-19 levels,” he said.
Dr Wee added that this showed that the country’s ports were still vibrant, and they were never closed even during the movement control order and the pandemic.
He said he was also happy with the transfer of the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre (KLATCC) from Subang to Sepang, Selangor.
“This is not only costly – it was planned in 2014 but due to Covid-19, it was disrupted as experts could not enter (the country) and we faced some difficulties.
“It is my responsibility to make sure we have sophisticated equipment. What I can say is that we have some of the most sophisticated tools in terms of airspace control, and they provide more accurate and optimal landings,” he said.
Dr Wee said in the past, the country only had seven airspace sectors, but with the new KLATCC system, this has increased to 14 airspace sectors.
In terms of landings, he said previously there were only 78 aircraft landings, but it could now be increased to 108 landings per hour using three runways at once.
“As we combine technology and optimise what we can integrate, it becomes an entity that benefits us in terms of global competitiveness. We are preparing for the aviation sector to return to pre-Covid-19 levels.
“This is not an easy task, and I thank the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), which has been working hard to achieve the target since September,” he said, adding that the KLATCC would be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Dec 1.
“In 2019, during the previous government, CAAM was downgraded from Category 1 to 2 by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and when I became Transport Minister, my intention was to get it back to Category 1.
“This is very important because it will affect our aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses.
“We want to get things right, and CAAM aspires to get back to Category 1 certification,” he said, adding that all the 33 weaknesses found by the FAA in 2019 had been resolved, and a group of experts from the US agency will visit Malaysia to conduct an audit on Dec 6.
“We hope that within five days of their audit, we will return our aviation sector to Category 1 – this is a shared dream that will enhance the competitiveness of the Malaysian aviation sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Wee said he held a positive and fruitful meeting yesterday afternoon with Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and Selangor State Secretary Datuk Haris Kasim on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project and other matters important to the state.
“We were able to agree on various outstanding issues related to the ECRL and find the best balance moving forward to ensure the project can progress successfully and bring the best value for Malaysia. We will have more information as soon as our offices iron out the details,” he added in a Facebook post.