Govt to focus on driving PM hopes improved railway services will encourage people to use it more

By ALLISON LAI and lines such as the (spur line from ''The convenience level at all stops, RASHVINJEET S. BEDI Arau, ) link to Bukit Kayu stations and terminals, regardless of [email protected] Hitam and the Port Klang-Serendah land, air or sea - all of them need to bypass,” he said. be compatible with an ageing socie­ :The govern­ He added that the government ty. ment will focus more on improving was also in the process of acquiring “The facilities should be in line the railway network and services in new ETS and sets to with the population’s physical capa­ the country, says Prime Minister improve passenger services. bilities,” he said, adding that the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. On NTP 2019, he said it was an increasing population and the Railway services, he said, had important plan that set clear and migration of rural people to the cit­ been underutilised in the country detailed directions for the country’s ies also needed to be taken into and he hoped that more people transport sector to drive growth. consideration by the government. would use it in the future. “NTP 2019 will aid the provision Meanwhile, Loke said NTP 2019 “Rail could also be used to trans­ of a quality transport system. This was developed through close collab­ port freight, especially big items, will help the government in fulfill­ oration between the government and it is safer compared to the lor­ ing its aspiration to make and private sector several years ago. ries used to transport goods. a developed nation,” he said. “We have taken into account the “In the future, we hope to have a Eye on the future: Dr Mahathir at the launch of NTP 2019 with Loke He noted that the emergence of latest trends in the transport sector developed rail system such as in (third from right) and Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar. new technologies such as e-com- such as the increasing urbanisation, , (South) Korea and China. merce, the Internet of Things and the technology shift that changes “Our intention is to reduce the not used. It is the same as buying an speed rail project from here to artificial intelligence had changed the way we live, communicate and use of private vehicles on the road airplane but keeping it on land. will be postponed for two people’s lives and challenged them transport goods and passengers. and increase the use of rail, espe­ “Rail is a big investment and it years due to cost concerns. to accept and utilise the new tech­ “Also, there have been changes in cially for long-distance travel. has to be used as frequently as pos­ Dr Mahathir noted that the move­ nologies for national development, the international shipping and avia­ “During festive seasons, we have sible,” he said, adding that the gov­ ment of freight by rail (up to July) including the transport sector. tion industries,'' he said, adding that to improve the frequency,” he said ernment would get advice from increased by 200,000 tonnes com­ “Technological developments, the transport sector was an impor­ after launching the National Trans­ Japanese experts on the matter. pared with the same period last year. such as e-commerce, need to be tant enabler for economic develop­ port Policy (NTP) 2019-2030 here He also said if there was a need to “More people are also opting for fully leveraged by all parties, includ­ ment and people’s well-being. yesterday. add railway lines, the government (KTM’s) ETS, LRT, MRT services and ing transport industry players and Loke said the good public trans­ Also present was Transport Min­ would do so. so on. entrepreneurs to benefit the econo­ port infrastructure laid down since ister Anthony Loke. On the RM4bil “The government will continue to my,” he added. the '90s had propelled the country In Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said, System project to link Baru improve the quality of rail services The government, said Dr Maha­ forward in terms of development. passengers sometimes had to endure and Singapore, he said it would pro­ for both passengers and freight by thir, was also concerned about “It is now a challenge for us to a long wait for the next train. ceed despite taking some time. upgrading the existing rail net­ the ageing population and serving optimise the infrastructure and “We invested a lot in rail, but it is However, the proposed high­ works and developing new rail those with special needs. make them better,'' he added.