Malaysia Needs A Mobility Commission Not Just Another Transport Agency

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The nation must integrate transport, urban planning, and equity so every Malaysian can move safely, affordably, and sustainably.
From Boo Jia Cher
In his review of Budget 2026’s transport allocation, Wan Agyl Wan Hassan again called for reviving the defunct Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD). For anyone who actually uses public transport, that sounds like common sense. Malaysia’s system has become leaderless and fragmented, and no amount of funding will fix that.
But bringing SPAD back as it was will not solve the problem. What we need is a Suruhanjaya Mobiliti Malaysia — a mobility commission that plans, regulates, and enforces all forms of movement, including trains, buses, walking, cycling and micro-mobility.
Its goal should be clear: to lift public and active transport use to at least 40% modal share.
One region, 10 rulebooks
Nowhere shows this fragmentation better than the Klang Valley.
Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya Ampang –- each city runs on its own rules, budgets and priorities. One paints zebra crossings; the next forgets they exist. Cross a boundary, and the sidewalk ends.
It’s absurd that we can plan billion-ringgit MRT lines but not guarantee a safe 300m walk to a station.
There’s no single body ensuring people can reach public transport. Prasarana runs trains and buses. Local councils handle land use, sidewalks and crossings. APAD licenses operators but doesn’t plan networks. Developers build whatever they please.
The result? MRT stations ringed by walls, drains and highways – no shade, no crossings, no safe routes on foot. We’ve built a world-class rail system but left people stranded beside it.
Why urban planning must be part of mobility
Transport and urban planning in Malaysia run on separate tracks. The transport ministry handles routes and vehicles; PLANMalaysia and local councils control zoning and land use.
But you can’t design good transport without shaping where people live and work. That’s why we get stations surrounded by eight-lane roads and parking lots, or condos with no safe walking route.
When you zone for mixed-use density around stations, public transport thrives. Push housing to the suburbs, and car dependency is locked in.
A mobility commission must therefore have planning powers to set walkability standards within 500m of stations, limit parking in transit-rich areas, and require mobility impact assessments for major projects.
Because mobility is urban planning.
Bus stops without connections
Take Selangor’s recent effort to replace bus stop signboards with proper shelters. It’s a welcome move.
But many new shelters have no sidewalks or crossings leading to them. At night, they sit in darkness along roads with no safe path. Buses still come once an hour, if at all. Who would take the bus like that?
So we end up with brand-new shelters standing empty while cars zoom past, a vivid example of piecemeal, mode-specific planning. You can build bus stops, but if walking to them is unsafe and buses infrequent, no one will use them.
What the commission could deliver
A unified authority could finally make the Klang Valley work like one city, not a patchwork of fiefdoms.
Imagine a standard, enforceable guide across the region for:
Protected bike lanes within 15 minutes of every station.Secure bicycle and e-scooter parking at all hubs.Compulsory bus lanes on major roads.Maximum 15-minute bus wait times.Uniform bus stop design and signage.Continuous, shaded and safe pedestrian routes.That’s what happens when planning, design, and enforcement live under one roof.
Learning from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) works because it unites planning, regulation and operations under one roof — coordinating buses, trains, roads and land use.
That’s why over 75% of peak-hour trips are on public transport, and every MRT station connects seamlessly to housing and walkways.
Malaysia splits those same powers across APAD, Prasarana, local councils and PLANMalaysia. It’s a mess and no one is responsible for the whole journey.
A mobility commission can learn from LTA’s integration, but go further with direct planning powers, local representation and a mission centred on equity and access, not just efficiency. Where LTA made Singapore move efficiently, Malaysia’s commission could make it move fairly.
Accountability and equity
Today, when an MRT station lacks a walkway, everyone blames someone else. Under a single commission, someone would finally be accountable.
It could also set national goals:
Mode-share targets for walking, cycling and public transport.Safety benchmarks to reduce traffic deaths.Equity indicators ensuring low-income, elderly and disabled communities have equal access.Beyond SPAD: a vision for mobility justice
Reinstating SPAD would be a start, but Malaysia needs a new institution for a new era. One that sees mobility without a private car or motorcycle as a right, not a punishment.
To any minister and government bureaucrat reading this: more funding is good, more trains and buses are good, but if Malaysians still can’t walk or cycle safely and comfortably to reach them, cars and motorbikes will remain the default choice.
A unified body that plans, manages and enforces across all modes can finally do what must be done: make public and active transport the easiest, safest and most natural way to move.
Suruhanjaya Mobiliti Malaysia could mark that turning point, expanding Wan Agyl’s call for coordination into a broader vision of mobility justice, where every Malaysian can move safely, affordably, and with dignity. - FMT
Boo Jia Cher is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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