KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 ― An Umno lawmaker dubbed today Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the "Father of Public Transport Modernisation” following the launch of the second Mass Rail Transit (MRT) line that will connect Putrajaya, Sungai Buloh and Serdang.

Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Seri Dr Irmohizam Ibrahim said the line would safeguard the welfare of civil servants by improving their convenience at work.

"I see that with the existence of the Putrajaya line, Datuk Seri Najib can be considered the father of the country’s public transport modernisation because of his speed and seriousness in transforming the country’s public transport system.

"This is because he himself took the responsibility to chair each meeting, to go down to the ground, and to launch each line,” Irmohizam said in a statement.

Malaysia’s previous prime ministers have been called Father of Independence (Tunku Abdul Rahman), Father of Development (Tun Abdul Razak Hussein), Father of Unity (Tun Hussein Onn) and Father of Modernisation (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad).

Najib officiated yesterday the groundbreaking ceremony for the second MRT line, known as the SSP line.

The project will have 37 stations along its 52.2km stretch and will cost Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) RM32 billion, a price tag higher than their Sungai Buloh-Kajang line due to the number of underground stations being built.