I have been closely following the MRT news and found the debate between MRT Corp and the Committee of Preserving Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang very interesting, sometimes entertaining, I must say.

After reading the news from both sides, I have concluded that the Committee of Preserving Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang's realignment proposal comes without any solid basis. To explain why, let's tally the facts presented by both parties.

Right from the start, MRT Corp has noted that the Jalan Sultan alignment will only involve the demolition of three government buildings - Uda Ocean, Klang Bus Station and Plaza Warisan. Main reasons provided are better connectivity, integration with other rail systems, and the preservation of heritage. Most importantly, seemingly solid reasons have been documented by them.

The Committee of Preserving Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang has proposed Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock as an alternative alignment.

Reasons provided are that they do not want the so-called ‘heritage' buildings in Jalan Sultan (Uda Ocean, Klang Bus Station and Plaza Warisan) to be demolished and that the road in Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock is wider for the construction of the MRT tunnel.

So better that shops along Tan Cheng Lock be demolished than an inconvenience of six months with Fair Compensation for Jalan Sultan landowners?

Reading a recent comment from the committee president, Stanley Yong, I can see that he is starting to panic. He has shifted his ground so many times that he is losing credibility. I only see him opposing - does he even own a shop at Jalan Sultan?

Who is he representing - I have not seen any other impacted landowner coming out speaking except for Lok Ann.

I think he realises that people are beginning to know the truth and the facts behind the whole issue. He is still adamant on realignment and noted that the connectivity issue can be solved by building a pedestrian tunnel linking Plaza Rakyat to Warisan Merdeka, which stretches ‘300-400m' long.

He also said MRT Corp can even build shops and stalls along the tunnel.

However, he has to get the facts correct. Firstly, the distance from Plaza Rakyat to Warisan Merdeka is around 700m, not 300-400m. Secondly, his proposed alignment does not even link to Plaza Rakyat. This means commuters have to walk to Plaza Rakyat and then use the 700m long tunnel to get to Warisan Merdeka! Now why would anyone want to do that?

Which brings to my next question - What's the point of having a transportation system if we still have to walk quite a distance to our destination?

Why would one want to walk ‘300-400m' if a transportation system is supposed to provide seamless integration?

Has Yong forgotten about the OKUs and senior citizens using public transportation every day? Just imagine, them having to hustle through ‘300-400m'of a busy walkway (if shops were to be built as proposed by KLSCAH) just so that they can get on other rail services or to reach their destination. Isn't that a burden to them?

The current alignment already provides direct and seamless integration with other rail services. Why fix something that is not broken?

I think it is better for Yong and Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall to just keep quiet or admit their mistake. The last thing that Malaysians want is a badly built, not integrated transportation system.

Don't be selfish and let the majority of Malaysians enjoy the benefits of the MRT. We have waited long enough for it to be up and running and we do not want to wait any longer.