KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — A proposal to bar small capacity, underbone motorcycles from the city will only be evaluated once the second Mass Rapid Transit line is operational, city mayor Datuk Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said today.

Speaking during a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) headquarters here, Amin said that accessibility to the city must be enhanced before such a move is considered.

He also said that the ban mooted by Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was only a proposal to be studied.

"We need the two lines of MRT to complete first, so that’s still a few years away. Even then it is just a forward suggestion, it’s not immediate implementation,” he said.

Amin also explained that DBKL already barred entry to select classes of vehicles, noting that heavy vehicles such as lorries are restricted from the city centre at various times.

"We already have policies for that. They can’t enter at certain periods,” he said.

He was responding to the public criticism of the proposed ban, which was meant to reduce carbon emissions in the city.

The MRT1 is expected to be fully operational by the middle of this year, while the MRT2 is expected to be completed in 2022.