KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's administration said at the launch of the Kuala Lumpur Local Plan 2040 that public transport will be the backbone of all future development plans, amid growing calls to curb Malaysia's overreliance on private cars.

The assertion again sparked a debate about who will fund these projects.

Public transportation systems in Malaysia have long depended on government subsidies.

But over the years, the discourse around public transit has included support for privatisation, the thinking being profitability - or at least break even - would make operators innovate and become more financially independent.

Experiences of other countries, however, show that the issue around public tra...