The Star: Najib wants immediate attention to ease city congestion

KUALA LUMPUR: Three weeks after Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak went down to the ground to visit three localities in the heart of the city, the prime minister Saturday sprung another surprise when he went on a walkabout at the bustling Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Jalan TAR) and Puduraya here.

…(edited)…

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at Masjid Jamek LRT station.-Bernama

Later, he hitched a ride on the crowded LRT (he had to stand) from Masjid Jamek station to the Plaza Rakyat station where he walked to the infamous ever congested Puduraya where the express bus terminal for the northern and southern zones is located.

Taking break from the sweltering heat, Najib then stopped by one of the stalls in the building for a cool drink.

Najib, flanked by a phalanx of bodyguards and an entourage of officials, also attracted a large crowd of onlookers, who wasted no time snapping photographs of the nation's sixth premier.

An excited woman, armed with her cameraphone and squeezing her way through the crowd, was heard saying: "Saya mahu ambil gambar perdana menteri saya" (I want to take pictures of my prime minister).

Later, Najib inspected the long-abandoned Plaza Rakyat building project located next to Puduraya before departing at 4.25pm.

"He wants the project to resume as soon as possible," Raja Nong Chik said.

The project, which initially cost RM1.2 billion, had been abandoned for 12 years after it changed hands many times. Its current developer is Global Upline.

The Plaza Rakyat project was supposed to comprise three buildings - a 79-storey, 49-storey and 21-storey for offices, condominiums and a budget hotel.

Finally! Finally one Prime Minister noticed that Plaza Rakyat has been abandoned for such a long time! Although it is much too late now to resume work on it (even if it is finished I wouldn’t have chance to use it so frequently anymore), nevertheless it will benefit future generations (and future tourists).

Please, Mr. Najib, please finish this thing which I always describe as the biggest scar on the face of KL as soon as possible! I am so sick of Puduraya already, which is heavily overcrowded, both passengers and buses. Just forget the 79, 49, and 21 stories if necessary, we just need the bus terminal.

P/S: Why nobody bothered to offer him a seat on the LRT huh? Anyway, if he sits, people sitting next to him would probably have to move to make way for his guards?