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ISSUE 1, 2016 CENTRALISATION KILLS LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT 04 BY LAM CHOONG WAH DISSECTING THE KL-SINGAPORE HIGH SPEED RAIL PROJECT 11 BY DHIRENN NAIR REFORMING DEWAN RAKYAT STANDING ORDERS: BEYOND MALAYSIAN PARLIAMENTARY REFORM 14 BY MOHAMMAD FAKHRURRAZI LIVEABLE CITIES: KOTA KINABALU AS A MODEL FOR MALAYSIA 22 BY PHOONG JIN ZHE PARK, TRANSIT, MOVE IN PETALING JAYA 26 BY IR LEE SUET SEN EDITOR’S NOTE One of the major urban issues in Malaysia is the poor public transport system which has plagued the nation for decades. The root causes are multifaceted but can be categorized into constitutional glitches and policy preference. The centralization of transport author- REFSA Team ity in the hands of the federal government has demotivated local authorities to im- prove public transport services. Most of Executive Director / Wong Shu Qi the time, the local authorities can only General Manager / Chung Hosanna plead with the federal government to act Senior Fellow / Lam Choong Wah or watch idly when encountering transport Researcher / Dhirenn Nair complaints. This is not correct and can be Research Librarian / Kwan Say Hong rectified through an effort of decentraliza- tion. Library Curator / Wong Hon-Wai Meanwhile, the City Council of Petaling Layout & Design / Wahyudi Yunus Jaya is spearheading a Transit Orientation Development model to curb the pressing Published by traffic congestion issue in the city. The Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) idea is not new, but it is a matter of pref- erence. 2nd Floor, Wenworth Building, Preferring private cars over public Jalan Yew, Off Jalan Pudu, transportation is no longer a workable 55100, Kuala Lumpur model. By switching the preference to public transportation, the authorities have Tel : 03 92855808 a chance of getting out from this transport Fax : 03 92818104 deadlock. URL : www.refsa.org As a city institute, REFSA presented a few articles which dissect the trans- port issue from alternative angles in this Email : [email protected] 1/2016 REFSA Quarterly. We hope it will provide some contexts in finding sustain- able solutions for the future. WONG SHU QI Executive Director Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) www.refsa.org ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 3 4 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016 By LAM CHOONG WAH Senior Fellow, Refsa alaysia is a relatively more developed state Mcompared to Cambodia or Thailand. With the current purchasing power, a majority of people in Malaysia are able to own things which could be con- sidered as luxury items, such as iPhones and multiple cars. However, even with such across the board development, a majority of Malaysians are de- prived of access to efficient and affordable public transportation. Decades ago, residential ar- eas and parks were connected to bus routes; this is no longer the case in many instances. Many bus operators are gradually giv- ing up routes that are deemed unprofitable due to low ridership. One of the reasons for these low rates of ridership is the rise CENTRALISATION of car ownership. Owning a car makes people think twice about utilising public transportation which is perceived to be time con- suming and an inconvenience.In KILLS LOCAL PUBLIC contrast, while iPhones may not be an affordable item to many Thais and Cambodians, public transport such as Tuk-Tuks and tricycles are relatively accessible TRANSPORT to many people. Granted these modes of What has gone wrong? as we further develop and urban- public transportation are not ise, public transportation is grad- as modern as the LRT system ually becoming less accessible, No, I am not advocating the return in Kuala Lumpur, they are how- particularly outside of the Greater of rickshaws as a major mode ever cheaper and are available Kuala Lumpur region. The ques- of public transportation but we around practically every street tion sounds simple enough but it need to seriously reflect on why corner. deserves substantial answers. ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 5 The Federal Government Monopolises Transport Affairs Public transportation is of vital necessity, this is a widely known fact; however, what is less known is that the Federal Government in Putrajaya has sole jurisdiction over it. Officials who sit in offices of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), away from the hustling and bustling areas of the Klang Why bother having to worry about all these the bus operator abandoning my area? Is it related to low ridership? questions when Why are bus operators allowed to abandon certain areas? Should one can just ridership and CENTRALISATION profit be the get into their sole factors in selecting private vehicle routes? Are bus stops and drive off? KILLS LOCAL PUBLIC safe places? The problems plaguing our Why bother having to worry public transportation system, par- about all these questions when Valley, decide on bus routes and ticularly buses, are multifaceted one can just get into their private future transport policies. Such and concern the following: ratio- vehicle and drive off? an arrangement on the planning TRANSPORT nality of bus routes, punctuality, The aforementioned ques- of public transport policies is connectivity, accessibility, fares, tions relate to serious doubts in a cause of concern because it demography, town planning, effi- the minds of citizens concerned leaves out two important actors, ciency of bus operators, policy and with the state of public transporta- local councils and state govern- budget matters. tion in the country. If anything, all ments. Is the lack of punctuality relat- these questions and conundrums The origin of this arrange- ed to ridership or is it due to poor point to one important fact, poli- ment can be found in the 1957 maintenance and traffic? Why is cies matter. Reid Constitutional Commission 6 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016 Chart 1 : The ridership of Greater Kuala Lumpur Area Source : Land Public Transport Master Plan GREATER KUALA LUMPUR / KLANG VALLEY, 7 November 2013. Mode Share 1970-2012 Report, paragraph 119 states thorities. Thanks to a period where the that “The regulation of road Therefore, it is obvious that Government aggressively pro- traffic is a matter for the Feder- for there to be an efficient public moted car ownership to boost ation, and we recommend that transportation system, cooper- local car manufacturing, now ev- this should continue to be a fed- ation between the Federal Gov- eryone can drive. eral subject but with power to ernment and local authorities is The immediate consequence the State to regulate the weight an imperative. of such an ill planned policy is an and speed of vehicles on State substantial drop in public trans- roads, bridges and ferries... Oth- The Decay of our Public port ridership. In three decades, er means of communication and Transportation System between 1970 and 2010, usage telecommunications are and rates in the Greater Kuala Lum- should remain federal subjects.” pur area have drop from 50% to This recommendation was The biggest development a mere 16%. Public transport is adopted and incorporated into related to transport in Malaysia now perceived as something un- the tenth section of the Feder- in the past few decades is un- common for many. doubtedly the boom in car man- al List, the Ninth Schedule. Al- The situation is even worse ufacturing which has resulted in though the federal government in areas outside of Greater Kua- unprecedented rates of car own- exerts sole jurisdiction over la Lumpur, particularly in Johor ership in Malaysia. One would be transport affairs, the power of Bahru, Ipoh, Seremban, Alor hard pressed to find an urban constructing bus stops and town Setar, Kuala Terengganu, and dweller who does not own a car. planning is vested in local au- Kangar. For example, in 2012, ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 7 Chart 2: Stage Bus Ridership in Selected Capital Cities Source : The Eleventh Malaysysian Plan an estimated 400,000 people sales, the government increased cording to a World Bank’s report, took public transportation in the import tax on foreign cars the rates at which roads were Kangar, Perlis, but that figure tremendously and “purposely” being built were unable to match has declined by 36% to 200,000 overlooked the development of with expansion in the rates of people in 2014, or 548 people public transport. car possession. Almost every daily. In such a situation, due to The lack of foresight on be- urban resident is unable to es- the ridiculous arrangement laid half of the Government has re- cape from being caught in heavy out in the 1957 Reid Constitu- sulted in a situation where we traffic. In the Peninsula alone, tional Commission Report, state have high level of car ownership 38% of federal roads – many governments are powerless; but low levels of public trans- of which provide radial access all they can do is plead, mostly portation usage. A poor public into city centres – have service unsuccessfully, with the Federal transportation system will only levels which are classified as E Government. force more people to not opt for or F. This means that they are Why is public transportation it, more so if they have access to severely or extremely congest- 1 in Greater Kuala Lumpur and private vehicles. ed. The hours wasted in gridlock on Greater Kuala Lumpur roads other areas decaying? The main Public transportation in cost us RM 12.7 billion or 1.1% problem stems from prioritising semi-urban and rural area has of the GDP. wrong policies. Three decades suffered the most from these ago, the Mahathir administra- disastrous policies. Worse still In the meantime, the Dep- tion decided to launch a nation- is the face that local authorities uty Minister of Finance Ahmad al car project out of the pride of have been witnessing this deteri- Maslan revealed on 25 June Malaysia Boleh.

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