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“Surprise walkabouts” good, but outcome of visits is vital

News of Anthony Loke experiencing first-hand what it’s like commuting on Rapid KL’s Light Rail Transit certainly got a section of the population abuzz with excitement.

There were those who quickly showered him with praises, hailing the newly-minted Transport Minister’s move as a great start.

What Loke did was good. But it was not new, and certainly, nothing to shout about.

In fact, some pointed out that if Loke had been a regular user of public transport, he would already know of the hardships faced by commuters.

We’ve seen prime ministers, ministers, chief ministers and menteris besar making unannounced, or surprise visits to get a ‘feel’ of what’s happening on the ground.

In 2015, then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made an unannounced visit to Kampung Baru. In 2020, then-Education minister Datuk Radzi Jidin made a surprise visit to several schools in Sabah and took notes of the shortcomings there.

In 2021, Khairy Jamaluddin, clad in a hoodie and a face mask, casually visited Kajang Hospital and caught many there off guard. And several months ago, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi took a bus from Johor to Singapore, and back, to see for himself some of the challenges faced by daily commuters who travelled between the two destinations.

In fact, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, during his first stint as prime minister, was known to drive around on his own to see what was going on. It was also normal practice for former Kuala Lumpur Mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail, to go around the city on his own.

They should, rightfully, be doing such things – living life and seeing things the way the average Malaysian does.

Perhaps taking public transport may seem like an Instragrammable moment for some, but for the rest of the city population, it’s part of their daily grind.

There are those who believe that most Malaysian politicians, often chauffeured around in bulky, flashy vehicles, are out of touch with the daily realities that the average citizen goes through – whether it’s facing massive traffic gridlock, horrible toilets, poor public transport service, bad waste management, or the lack of safe pedestrian walkways.

If they are on the ground on a daily basis, they would already be investigating the root causes of these issues and finding solutions to help cushion, if not solve, them.

As such, the real newsmakers aren’t those who “quietly” carry out walkabouts, only to post them on their social media accounts later.

The real newsmakers should be those who quickly address these existing and long-standing problems.

We’ve heard promises, with little, to zero results. We’ve heard of “political soundbites”, words that please the ears, but do nothing more.

What matters most is the outcome of such visits.