Sunday May 27, 2007

On track for greater heights

As with any country with pretensions to modernity, we have built up our transport industry, both internally and internationally, to suit our aspirations.

We have developed almost beyond recognition in the five decades since the Tunku ushered in freedom with his now-legendary cry of “Merdeka!”.

From being very much a Third World nation at first, we are now trumpeting ourselves as a developing country and one of the brightest stars in this part of the globe.

As with any country with pretensions to modernity, we have built up our transport industry, both internally and internationally, to suit our aspirations.

Singapore was once universally accepted as the regional port of choice for the majority of vessels plying nearby shipping routes, but with the emergence of Northport, Westport and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas as major destinations of choice, we can now boast of having harbours that are fast catching up with that of our neighbour Down South.

The numbers don’t lie. Our year-on-year growth, while not fabulous, has been consistently steady. Recent statistics released by the Transport Ministry indicated that the 337mil tonnes of cargo that moved through our ports last year represented a 7.6% increase over the 313mil of the year before. The same upward trend can be seen in the movement of containerised cargo, which saw a growth of 13% in volume last year.

We are also taking flight in the competition for control of the skies. KLIA is gradually becoming more and more popular with passengers as well as shippers, as proven by the 43.7mil passengers and 1.05mil tonnes of cargo that passed through our showpiece airport last year alone.

Things are bound to get better too. Malaysia Airlines, under Idris Jala’s stewardship is showing signs of recovery once more. Low cost carrier, AirAsia, which has designs to compete with the flagship airline, would do well to look over its shoulder at the chasing pack, led by Fly Asian Express (FAX) and the Penang-based Firefly.

All this competition translates to better news for the consumer, as he can expect better deals from the contending companies.

There has also been a multitude of changes over the years in respect to the transport industry internally. Public transport has improved tremendously, with the rickety, open-windowed buses of old having been replaced by state-of-the-art, air-conditioned upgrades.

We now have commuter trains, LRTs and monorail services to support and enhance the existing bus and taxi services.

Our very own national carmaker, Proton Holdings Berhad, is looked upon as an international brand to the eyes of the world. The Proton Saga was the first car produced by the company.

Even private vehicles have improved beyond recognition. Nissan Sunnys, Datsun 120Ys and Mitsubishi Galants have been replaced by SUVs, pick-up trucks and high-spec sports cars, just like the kapcai motorcycles have slowly given way to trendier scooters and sporty bikes.

Everything isn’t as utopian as it sounds, though, as we still have a bunch of niggling problems, most of it of our own doing, that continue to bedevil us.

For example, what good are top-of-the-range cars and motorbikes if we still don’t change our attitudes towards road safety?

Accidents rates and road fatalities continue to rise. Repeated warnings reminding us to wear seatbelts, use handsfree kits, buckle up our helmets and install baby seats in our cars are still being ignored, often with disastrous consequences.

Taxi drivers are still being accused of fleecing customers, especially tourists, and literally taking them for a ride.

Another point to ponder is whether the public transport provided is distributed fairly among the different states, cities, and demographics in the country. The truth is that it isn’t.

A case in point is the suburb of Selayang. Located between Sentul and Rawang (both of which have commuter services) and with a railway track running through it, it should be no problem having a commuter station there. It doesn’t, and the residents, mainly middle class people who depend on public transport, are left to fight it out daily for the limited amount of space on the available buses.

Putrajaya is the administrative capital of the country, with most of the government departments and offices being located there. Yet, it remains largely inaccessible to the public due to its remoteness and dearth of public transport options.

The lucky thing is that most of these transport woes are confined by and large to Kuala Lumpur and a few of the larger cities and towns like Johor Baru and George Town. Smaller cities and towns like Ipoh and Seremban have largely avoided this problem, even though they have fewer and less glamorous amenities.

Truth be told, the problems we have can be surmounted without too much difficulty – if only we are willing to do it. The machinery is already in place, and all we need now is a change of attitude and better organisation to maximise the resources we have already provided ourselves.

In a nutshell, we need to match our space-age facilities with an equally sophisticated way of thinking.

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