Yoursay: Now rakyat made to pay for KLIA2 cost overruns

KLIA2 fee hiked to cover sky high cost overruns?

Anonymous 2436471476414726: Government contractors laughed all the way to the bank during the construction of KLIA2, but the rakyat are now getting ripped off with higher passenger service charges (PSC).

This is the way of the BN government. They boasted that they care for the rakyat by giving BR1M, but at the same time they don’t hesitate to burden them with all sort of charges and taxes.

The government says KLIA2 is of the same standard as KLIA? Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), you must be joking.

As Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua rightly pointed out, the only reason the PSC is increased is probably to cover the massive cost overruns (from RM1.7 billion to RM4 billion) in the construction of KLIA2.

Bluemountains: The government has been warning traders not to simply increase the prices of goods and services. But it is the government itself that is the actual culprit.

The increase in petrol prices, toll charges and GST (goods and services tax) have caused enough hardships; and now they are increasing the PSC from RM50 to RM73 at KLIA2 despite the extremely poor service given to travellers.

Travellers who are old and weak are often unable to walk the long distance during arrivals and departures. They need the services of the handful of buggies, which are always nowhere to be seen, especially when a plane arrives early in the morning.

EmEmKay: It seems that KLIA2 does not give two hoots about customer service these days, and complacency has already set in.

Last Wednesday, when I went into one of the toilets there, I was horrified to see that all the urinal had ‘out of order’ signs, the wash closets were foul smelling, etc. I can strongly infer that KLIA2 is slipping very dangerously in its service standard.

If nothing is being done about this deteriorating standard, we might lose it altogether and I am contemplating using airlines that use KLIA’s main terminal in the interim until the fast trains to Singapore become operational.

After that, I might use Singapore Airports if KLIA’s services do not improve.

Secondly, KLIA2 suffers from poor terminal design. Somehow, KLIA1 made it very convenient for travellers – from the drop-off point to the check-in counters and to get through Immigration, security and then right to their gates, thanks to efficient terminal design and floor plans.

Oscar Kilo: Just compare KLIA2 with Singapore’s Changi Terminal 4. Both of these terminals serve low-cost carriers, but the standard and quality of KLIA2 and Changi T4 are miles apart.

The Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAHB) had one chance to build a great airport, but they built a mediocre airport, with a shopping mall attached to it.

It makes me wonder whether their priority was the airport or the shopping mall.

Anonymous_3e86: Some people may have benefited from the cost overruns in building KLIA2. Now the rakyat have to pay the debts.

We know very well how bad KLIA2 is. We have to walk miles to the terminals. Walkalators often don’t work. Lifts don’t work. Toilets are badly maintained (as is the case in Malaysian culture). The runway is like riding a rollercoaster during take-off.

And we have to pay for all these deficiencies?

Fly-on-the-Wall: One of the photographs of KLIA2 in the article (the one with the flooded runway) made me think we’re talking about some backward Third World country. But wait a minute, we are!

That’s how far we have fallen in recent years.

M’sians and their useless fight against Israel

SusahKes: I’m not sure if we should feel sympathy with the present sorrows of McDonald’s Malaysia. After all, didn’t they add on to the lamentable Malaysian social narrative of “them versus us”, when they banned non-halal cakes from their outlets?

Who is biting back now at McDonald’s? Their critics now are made up of the very same demographic that the fast-food outlet inspired to protect in the first place.

So, as far as I’m concerned, McDonald’s Malaysia lent a helping hand, on its own, to the divisive narrative that is hurting us now.

Anonymous 2484491505281360: This is a proverbial case of barking at the wrong tree. A boycott is a very dangerous thing, especially when we are amongst the most vulnerable exporters.

The racial venom thrown up in political congregations can backfire if the importing consumers retaliate, for example if they stop buying palm oil products from us.

Alfanso: I have seen medical products imported from Israel in government hospitals. So, it’s no big deal whether some over-enthusiastic people shout for a boycott in the streets.

Stig: It was US President Donald Trump who decided to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, so the boycott should not only be aimed at Israel, we should boycott American goods as well, shouldn’t we?

So, Microsoft Windows, Google, Android and Apple, should be the targets as well. Who is going to start by throwing away their computers, tablets and phones?

Headhunter: Yes, since it’s Trump who made the decision, how about boycotting all things American instead of helping Trump to make America great by investing billions there?

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