Outgoing Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat has assured a smooth handover of duties to his replacement, Kong Cho Ha.

Saying that he respects Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s choice of replacement, Ong said he would continue to serve the public as the member of parliament for Pandan.

NONE In a blog posting today, Ong claimed to have performed to the best of his abilities during his two years and two months as transport minister.

“This includes putting in place a system of transparency and good governance within the ministry and its agencies so that every cent of the people’s money is accounted for,” he wrote.

Ong was a key figure in initiating investigations into the Port Klang Free Zone scandal , which has rattled many top political personalities.

This move helped earned Ong brownie points from the public for being a rare BN leader who was serious about stamping out corruption, but also drew the attention of powerful political enemies.

Still on duty

ong tee keat ktm 151209 new train Ong, who was blogging from Japan, reminded the public of his efforts to help bring improvements in public transportation.

“Even up ... the final hours before the announcement of the cabinet reshuffle , I have managed to, after final discussions with Tokyo Metro, to secure the gift of 38 used six-car train sets (a total of 228 cars) from the Government of Japan to Malaysia.

“The train sets are of reasonably in good condition and have at least another 20 years’ lifespan.”

The first batch of used trains is expected to be delivered in 2012 and is expected to ease the long-standing shortage of trains.