Saying he had simply responded to “strange” comments made by Wee on the minister’s proposal to handle congestion, he added: “I have no idea why Wee was so defensive when neither DAP secretary-general and former transport minister Loke Siew Fook nor I had ever put all the blame on him or his ministry.

“Wee said there was nothing much he could do and therefore no one should blame him or his ministry but I wonder what his duty and role actually is as transport minister.”

Yesterday, Wee hit back at Liew for criticising him for his alleged poor policymaking in alleviating traffic congestion.

Liew had commented on two statements made by Wee – that there were too many vehicles on the road, and that the government was considering increasing fares for public transport.

“These are good reasons for me to doubt his policymaking thought processes,” Liew had said on Facebook.

Liew said a failed public transport system had led to Malaysia becoming the eighth most dangerous country to drive in, and the government having to fork out a larger amount in fuel subsidy to combat surges in global fuel prices.

However, Wee said it was unfair to pin the blame for traffic congestion in the country on the transport ministry when construction projects, which contributed to heavy traffic, were under the works ministry.

Liew said in a statement today that he had read these comments with “great amusement”, adding that the government only needed to subsidise public transport to reduce the usage of private vehicles.

“Hiking fares for public transport now will force people to continue using private vehicles,” he said. “If they cannot afford cars, they switch to motorcycles, which only causes more road accidents and deaths.”