Thursday, June 16, 2016

FBSHApost@15 June 2016



I am just thinking that the world has become so self centered with their articulation of national interest and their own version of global justice, peace and security. We are now inundated with so much conflicts, nationally, regionally and globally. Many of us seem to have blinkers in trying to find a solution when it is skewed with looking at symptoms using old norms and thinking. We are not addressing the root causes for fear of being alleged to have sympathy or seek justification for the heinous crimes against humanity or violent extremism and terrorism. We often deliberate about understanding, respect, goodwill, tolerance and harmony. These cannot be done or implemented or achieved without the advocates of these norms possessing the same qualities respect or goodwill for others. What we need to change is not the physical part but that inner consciousness about knowing and understanding others. Only then can we work together to overcome the ills of society and find a solution that is sustainable and lasting. Nation states and societies are responsible to manage the diversities and differences which if properly harnessed can be our strength. Just a thought in the morning to start the day.

FBSHApost@15 June 2016

FBSHApost@11 Jun 2016: Melayu dan Barat


Apakah orang Melayu hendak jadi....bebas, moden dan liberal atau kita mahu bangga, redha dan berpaut pada Islam. Atau kita anggap tidak lagi tepat jika mahu moden dan berjaya menyatukan budaya dan agama kita. Ada golongan yang mahukan supaya agama jadi cita rasa individu dan di tinggalkan di rumah saja..Pilih saja apa yang kita hendak dan ketepikan apa yang kita tidak hendak. Ada seorang yang berpengaruh dan kini berjaya dalam hidup mengatakan pada sahabatnya yang bila orang Melayu lebih dekat dengan agama Islam dia makin jauh sebagai orang Melayu. Kita sudah tiba pada zaman di mana umat menganggap apa yang di capainya ada lah penentuannya sendiri...tidak menjadi kesalahan atau janggal jika dia menganut budaya barat, pakaian barat dan gaya hidup barat... Itulah penonjolan kebebasannya...tapi kalau berpakaian yang mereka anggap Islam atau timur tengah... Maka macam-macam kutukan dilemparkan. Begitulah juga dengan terminogi Arab atau keagamaan maka dikritik. Dinamisma bahasa Inggeris kerana dia dapat menerima bahasa dan budaya lain untuk disesuaikan kepada keperluan mereka. Malahan ilmu mereka pun di peringkat awal diceduk dari tamadun dan kemajuan Islam serta dikembang dan dimajukan. Mengapa kita berselisih dalam semua perkara yang tidak perlu dan leka berpecah.

FBSHApost@11 Jun 2016

FBSHApost@10 June 2016: Jangan gunakan akal tanpa ilmu


Dunia hari ini berselerak dengan maklumat. Beraneka macam yang boleh kita dengar dan baca. Untuk tiba pada maklumat bukan lagi susah. Lagi pula manusia jadi lebih pandai dan pemikiran mereka terdedah kepada berbagai unsur dan elemen. Yang bermaklumat tidak bermakna berilmu..pandai tidak makna bijaksana...berakal tidak bererti tuntas.... Pintar berhujah tidak bermakna betul dan tepat... Popular dan berpengaruh tidak juga membawa insan menjadi penegak keadilan atau penyebar ilmu. Apa kurangnya Iblis dari segi kejadian dan kepintaran tetapi kerana itu dia sombong dan bongkak serta tidak mahu mengikut perintah Allah maka dia jatuh ke golongan mungkar dan dijanjikan tempatnya di Neraka. Justeru itu kita perlu berhati-hati bila mengunakan mulut dan lidah serta kalam kita. Jangan gunakan akal tanpa ilmu atau berhujah mengikut sedap selera. Kita baca terus tafsir tanpa mengetahui sirah dan landasannya. Jangan juga jadi musuh dalam selimut seperti golongan munafik. Bebas dan berupaya berbicara dan liberal kononnya hidup ini hak kita dan bukan pinjaman yang maha berkuasa. Pegangan dan pendirian itu akan merugi dan merosakkan Insan. Biarlah kita maju dan berubah ke arah kebaikan. Wallahhualam.

FBSHApost@10 June 2016

FBSHApost@5 Jun 2016: Selamat Menunaikan Ibadah Puasa


Assalammualaykom kepada seluruh kawan-kawan di ruang FB. Dikesempatan ini saya mengucapkan Selamat menunaikan puasa di Ramadhan Karim. Semoga kita diberi rahmat dan keberkatan serta diampunkan dosa-dosa di bulan Ramadhan yang mulia dan kesihatan bagi menyempurnakan puasa. Mendapat Nur dari Allah untuk berubah ke arah kebaikan berkekalan di dunia dan Jannah di akhirat. Aamiin. Ramadhan kareem. Maaf zahir batin

FBSHApost@5 Jun 2016

FBSHApost@4 June 2016: May God forgive and bless us



Some of us talk or write to create division, hatred or encourage violence against others out of perceived knowledge but there are also those who do it due to ignorance. In both cases we must pity them or have a sense of compassion to forgive them. In this world of communication and information we are witnessing the worst of human behaviour, killings, oppression and conflicts for political, ideological or even in the name of religion. The imbalance between rights and obligations, arrogance and humility, strengths and weaknesses, virtues and evils, good and bad. This is in the power of minds and hearts. We let ourselves go astray thinking that we are superior than our maker or we abandon our creator...May God forgive and bless us with his Light that can torch our lives to the abode of brightness, be at peace with ourselves and our fellow human beings.

FBSHApost@4 June 2016

FBSHApost@31 May 2016: We must understand before we speak


I think there have been an unnecessary uproar about the so called Hudud Law without even understanding what was tabled in Parliament. The reaction of non Muslims are to say the least, extreme. This is just a resolution and many more steps have to be taken. We are not sure what is the outcome. Just don't attack Islam and Muslims that create negative and unnecessary emotions that amounts to defaming the sanctity of Islam. We should bear in mind that the constitution provides the freedom of religion including to the Muslims. What they intend to do in respect of their own religion should not be a cause to start an attack on Islam or the Sharia. We must understand before we speak.

FBSHApost@31 May 2016

FBSHApost@30 Mei 2016: Coretan Pandangan


Kini kita hidup dunia berpura-pura dan munafik yang dilakukan oleh negara, kumpulan atau individu. Kita melakukan kezaliman kita berpura kebaikan.. Kita membunuh tapi cerminkan kitalah penyelamat dan pembebas.....hancur musnah....mengaku juara kebebasan, sering menceritakan kepincangan dan keburukan si polan dan si polan seolah dia itu malaikat yang berbicara dan mengaku diri insan kamil. Kalau memarahi atau menegur si polan dan si polan itu bukan penghinaan. Tapi ingat jangan pula orang lain pula berkata terhadap kekurangan sendiri atau kepincangan dirinya. Pantas tidak senang dan marah. Begitulah manusia dan dunia yang bergelumang dengan kepuraan dan kemunafikan. Mengatakan orang lain sombong apakah kita betul-betul tawaduk.... Tidak memilih bulu.. entahlah makin keliru.

FBSHApost@30 Mei 2016

FBSHApost@23 Mei 2016: Tazkirah Subuh



Tazkirah Subuh pagi ini...Manusia dijadikan Allah dengan perbezaan dan kelainan. Kita akan senantiasa berselisih. Kita kena terima hakikat ini sebagai fitrah manusia. Tiap seorang ada peranan lengkap-melengkapi. Yang kaya ada peranan dan yang miskin juga ada peranan. Dijadikan kita dengan kelainan untuk lengkapi dalam satu ikatan. Setiap Insan perlu memerlukan lengkap-melengkapi... Baru sempurna hidup dan dapat mencapai keharmonian. Jangan lupa tukang sampah, tukang sapu mahupun pembaik-alat tandas juga diperlukan. Akal, kesihatan, keamanan, kedamaian semuanya nikmat Allah pada manusia kaya ataupun miskin.

FBSHApost@23 Mei 2016

FBSHApost@22 Mei 2016: Nisfu Sya'ban


Nisfu Sya'ban...di mana malaikat bawa naik semua rekod perbuatan kita untuk sepanjang tahun. Justeru perlu bermaafan di antara satu sama lain dan bertaubat pada Allah...Semoga semua kebaikan dapat dirasai untuk membuat perubahan kepada diri. Jangan lupa bahawa Rasullullah S.A.W diangkat sebagai Rasul yang membawa rahmat kepada seluruh alam. Aamiin.

FBSHApost@22 Mei 2016

FBSHApost@22 Mei 2016: Coretan Pandangan

Apa yang paling membimbangkan bila hendak memahami sejarah adalah penafsiran fakta yang tidak tepat atau tanpa orang itu menyemak fakta sebenar merumuskan sesuatu yang tergelincir dari realiti. Tapi penafsir telah membuat andaian dan tanggapannya sendiri. Menjadi lebih susah lagi bila dia menganggap dirinya lengkap dengan ilmu dan kepakaran. Bahan yang digunakan atau ceritakan tidak berasaskan sumber yang sahih. Namun begitu orang lain telah menjadi mangsanya samada secara sengaja atau tidak sengaja. Di zaman ini ramai golongan yang terangkum dalam kumpulan yang bebas mencerita dan mengkritik orang lain. Berhati-hati lah....supaya tidak terpedaya.

FBSHApost@22 Mei 2016

FBSHApost@20 Mei 2016: Coretan Pandangan

Kita bertemu dengan berbagai orang di dalam perjalanan hidup dengan bermacam-macam perangai, fe'el dan tabiat. Itulah sebenarnya cubaan Allah pada diri masing-masing yang perlu direnung dengan bersabar. Ada yang berasa dialah yang paling pandai, ada yang menganggap dirinya yang paling berilmu dan anggap tiada yang setaraf dengannya. Justeru boleh buat dan menegur siapa saja...kerana dia saja yang betul...boleh menyentuh sapa saja, boleh menghina yang lain....gagah dan kuat...paling sempurna...yang lain dikategorikan bodoh dan tidak bijak dan tidak tahu buat kerja....maki hamun pun ok....sombong dan angkuh ok. Ramai pengikut, pengemar dan pembaca....popular tidak terkira...ketawa dan gelak kan orang...Ah...layak menghakimkan sapa saja....itulah asam garam hidup yang penuh dengan cabaran...setiap Insan ada kekuatan dan kelemahannya...saya mendengar temubual divideo seorang cendiakawan Arab dari masih mengatakan yang dunia hari ini mengejar pembangunan dan pemodenan...malang katanya umat Islam hilang satu perkara yang penting iaitu kemanusiaan dan nilai dalam mereka hanyut meniru serta mengejar kejayaan barat yang berasaskan kebendaan tanpa mengira apa harga yang perlu dibayar untuknya. Wallahhu a'lam.

FBSHApost@20 Mei 2016

FBSHApost@16 May 2016: The talk by the Ustaz after Subuh prayer.

The talk by the Ustaz after the Subuh prayer this time covers the subject of Man's and Woman's original abode in heaven. It was only when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of the Iblis that they were sent to earth to lead all creations of the Almighty on earth. God in his compassion and mercy forgave Adam and Eve for the transgression which was the original sin. Our journey in life should be to return to our original home. However this could only be achieved through upholding the faith and leading a virtuous life as well as abiding to the teachings of the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Prophet S.A.W. Our being on earth is not accidental but a planned move by Allah to make Man a leader and appreciate his responsibility and understand that life on earth is only temporary. Patience and forgiveness is an important part of the good being. It is necessary for us to have the value of feeling ashamed or to possess the sense of guilt for any wrongdoing... This would allow us to have the quality of being an upright person....God forbids when we consider wrong as right and right is wrong.

FBSHApost@16 May 2016

FBSHApost@14 Mei 2016: Adab, Tawhid dan Tawarikh


Masa saya bersekolah agama di Johor...salah satu subjek yang diajar awal-awal lagi adalah Adab, Tawhid dan Tawarikh...Adab mengajar untuk kenal kepada apa maknanya sopan santun, berbudi bahasa. Tidak kira taraf dan kedudukan....sebab itu ada pepatah mengatakan (yang saya pendidikan) iaitu yang merah itu saga yang indah itu bahasa...tapi sekarang mungkin budaya ini lapok dan ketinggalan zaman.....

Bila belajar Tauhid murid-murid dididik tentang perlunya sedar bahawa Insan ini tidak ada apa yang dia patut berasa berbesar, berbangga atau berasa terlalu berkuasa, kerana semuanya milik Allah...Satu saja Dia....yang manusia adalah setiap satu pinjaman Nya....dengan itu tidak payah cakap besar, sombong atau angkuh kerana jawatan, kedudukan ataupun keturunan.
Tawarikh pula mengajar untuk memahami sirah dan cerita-cerita dalam Quran dan Hadith yang boleh jadi contoh dan teladan untuk menakhoda hidup...
Mungkin zaman ini orang lupa kepada keesaan Allah dan tidak mahu lihat pada contoh-contoh lampau...kerana mereka lebih pandai dan terdidik. Justeru ramai jadi keliru.... pun tidak faham pada had had....langgar saja mengikut akal fikiran tanpa berteraskan landasan sebenar......hanya coretan Sabtu..Wallahu a'lam.


FBSHApost@14 Mei 2016

FBSHApost@9 May 2016: Mother

I never celebrate mother's day but certainly I know the importance of the mother as the door to heaven....from the moment of pregnancy, to the time of birth, nurtured us from boyhood to be a teenager, to adulthood, marriage as we go on with the cycle of life until death. For that reason God grants a special and privileged position to women. May my wife as a mother and all mothers always be under the protection of the Almighty for all their sacrifices to make the world a better place.

FBSHApost@9 May 2016

FBSHApost@7 Mei 2016: PUISI #10/2016 Rindu

Rindu pada kebenaran
Rindu pada kebatilan disingkirkan
Rindu pada kedamaian
Rindu pada keadilan ditakhtakan
Rindu mencari insan yang menjiwai kesederhanaan
Rindu pada akhlak sopan
Rindu pada sentuhan suara hati
Rindu kepada kasih sayang suci dan murni
Ah ah....tidak hilang rasa rindu ini
Rindu pada dunia tiada dusta
Rindu mengurap gelita
Rindu terserlah ubur cahaya
Rindu pada yang ikhlas kata
Rindu pada alam semesta
Rindu mahu bertemu si fakir
Rindu pada yang berharta
Rindu pada mereka menghulur tangan tanpa diminta
Rindu pada berakhirnya kuasa durjana
Rindu dalam berbagai warna
Rindu pada kehidupan saksama
Rindu pada dunia tidak menggenggam senjata
Rindu mencari tiada perang dan konflik bermaharajalela
Rindu pada dunia yang tidak berpura
Rindu pada tiada jeritan dan kesakitan kezaliman
Rindu pada samudera bebas tanpa sengketa
Rindu mendengar suara si kanak-kanak, si tua dan wanita
Rindu pada gurindam dan seloka mereka
Rindu pada hingar-bingar ceria
Rindu pada bermacam-macam lagu seirama
Rindu pada alam yang menjadi taman syurga
Di mana dia mahu memenuhi rindu
Fakir cuma berilham di awan biru
Rindu tiada nokhtah
Merayau-rayau di kotak akal dan kata
waktu 22.47
7 haribulan Mei 2016
FBSHApost@7 Mei 2016

FBSHApost@7 May 2016: Tolerance & Respect for Differences of Opinions in Islam


Last night I attended a lecture given by Dr Syeikh Umar Farouk Abdullah at the Hall of the Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan KL. The topic was on tolerance & respect for differences of opinions in Islam. It was very interesting and eloquently spoken. He covered the subject from the historical and civilizational perspectives with great knowledge, depth and understanding of the Quran and Hadiths as well as current and past Ulama which showed Islam as contained in the Quran about differences and tolerance and Allah telling us that He created human beings with all kinds and types of differences which are supposed to embrace, accept and associate with each other with love and friendship. After all, in Islam there is no compulsion. The Prophet S.A.W treats the others with love and respect. Based on the teachings, we should live in tolerance and respect other religions, faiths and cultures as demonstrated in India, Africa, Greece and Turkey. Similarly, this was the practice in Medina. It encourages and protects the other faiths and cultures including Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Jews premised with what is advocated in the Quran and Hadiths. In areas where there is already a clear meaning on a ruling, there is no necessity to interpret anymore. Except in areas where there is no clarity or could have the possibility of different meaning then in that situation, it could be debated and discussed and even interpreted if the person or persons have the competency and apply the right methodology. Islam is a positive contributor to knowledge and civilizations because it is willing to co-exist with others. Today the name of Islam is hijacked and it is worsened by propaganda and media distortions.. These people do not represent Islam or its culture and traditions.

Wallahu a'lam.

FBSHApost@7 May 2016

FBSHApost@2 May 2016: Lumrah



Dalam merenung pagi...langit yang kebiruan tidak muncul...sempat pergi bersarapan pagi di kedai mamak berdepan rumah..bersama2 geng subuh...sembang-sembang hal biasa dan persekitaran negara...lagipula teramainya dari kita yang tinggal saki baki hidup tidak terlalu lama...tenang fikiran tapi terkenang juga apa yang akan diwariskan pada anak cucu. Lebih2 lagi di zaman-zaman yang lebih pantas dan rancak ini...dunia politik dan perniagaan ramai yang rakus. Tiada kesetiaan. Kadang mereka yang kita tolong pun tidak lama kemudian mereka sudah lupa budi...lumrah..ada masanya ada juga yang tidak kenang langsung....cepat hendak dipadam segala-gala jasa orang terdahulu, sekali lagi orang katakan lumrah...beri jawatan, disuap makan dari tangan pun tak semestinya diingat, ada saja selesa kedudukan...lepas tu semua dilupai, jawabnya biasalah tu...lumrah...ada yang dah tak kenal atau berpura tidak kenal ataupun tak mahu nampak bersama lagi itu lumrah...entah...tak usah difikir atau dikenang bukan itu juga dalam lingkungan lumrah... Ada yang tanya selepas ini ke mana pula umat kita...ada yang liberal - enjoy, ada yang fikir jangan fikir mati----enjoy....ada yang pelampau...keras dan tegas----ada yang sederhana dan seimbang...jelas berpecah umat ke macam2 kumpulan, pemerhati seronok...menunggu retak mencari belah....untuk ambil autoriti dan kuasa...ada orang kata dalam hidup jika dibuang duri dari kaki singa yang kesakitan, berhati-hati lepas saja dibuang duri singa akan terus mengaum lega dan kita pula menjadi makanannya....itu juga dipanggil lumrah. Habis sarapan kita pun bersurai dengan ingatan berbagai-bagai keadaan.. itu juga lumrah...

FBSHApost@2 May 2016

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

First SPAD Academy Lecture Series 2016: Land Public Transport Transformation in Malaysia – History, Aspirations and Challenges - (14 March 2016)


Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction and Context

Thank you for that introduction Cik Yusnaida.

Actually I am here to speak on behalf of SPAD. I appreciate the opportunity afforded to me to share my thoughts and experience after being six years in the organisation. I believe all of you present this morning believe public transportation is vital to the future of our people and country.

When speaking about public transport, our mission is really not about public transportation. Really it’s about people, it’s about employment, it’s about quality of our lives and quality of our environment.

Since public transport is about those things I mentioned, and more; in a time of tough fiscal choices, we can say it is a wise investment in our future. During on uncertain economic period it is a journey to prosperity. Amid the rising concern about global warming in Malaysia we are feeling its consequent too. It’s a source of cleaner air.

Above all, public transport is an investment for a better of life, less irritating times stuck in traffic, more places for families to be together and more time to do so.

With all those benefits, public transport is on the rise. Public transport costs money upfront but yields a profit at the end of it. Public transport is also a critical building block for economic development.

I am sure that many of you especially the transport professionals and students have heard that the modal share of public transport is about 20% in Kuala Lumpur, 15% in Johor Bharu, 11% in Penang and so on. However we must not lose sight of the fact that these bland percentages actually represent real-life people. It means that everyday in Malaysia, a total of 1.3 million passengers make a journey using the bus, the LRT, the KTM or the monorail.

So when we talk of transforming public transport, we are actually talking about how we can improve the lives of these 1.3 million of our fellow citizens. When we talk of increasing modal share, we are talking of improving the lives of more of our fellow citizens, – all things being equal public transport is the best and cheapest form of transport for each and everyone of us. But here is the root of the problem – all things are NOT equal. Too often, we have unreliable services, we have first-mile last-mile connectivity issues, and we have issues regarding integration between different modes and services. In fact, we have a whole lot of issues that make public transport not the first choice but the second choice and sometimes even the last resort of the people. This is something that the public is very aware of as they experience it first-hand. In fact I would say that public transport is one area where the public is as knowledgeable as the professionals when it comes to how the system is performing on the ground. Professionals may say that the capacity on average is sufficient but try telling that to someone who cannot get into a bus or a train because it is too crowded. Who do you believe? I know who I will believe. 

We also have to keep in mind that in transforming public transport, we are not starting from a blank slate. There is in fact an existing well-entrenched system that both operators and people are familiar with. Any attempt to change will necessarily have to take into account the existing system to minimize if not avoid totally any disruption as we attempt to make the journey from where we are to where we want to go. So it is useful for us to reflect on this reality, to understand how we came to this state of affairs before we can talk of our aspirations and challenges.


Evolution of the Public Transport Operating System and Regulatory Framework

Historically, the public transport system started as a private sector initiative using buses. The passenger bus industry relied on the farebox revenue model whereby operating costs and investment returns are meant to be covered from passenger fares. There was cross-subsidization within the company level. Lucrative routes cross-subsidized loss-making routes. This model worked fine as long as the number of lucrative routes exceeded the number of loss-making routes. However as the city expanded, route expansion did not keep pace with the increase in urbanization because by definition the new areas were less populated and thus loss-making.

The result was that the PT network served an increasingly smaller proportion of the urban area. Increasing affluence resulted in high rates of private vehicle ownership and taking into account the relatively less dense coverage by  public transport, resulted in greater use of private vehicles and less usage of public transport. Bus operators reacted by cutting unprofitable routes, or reducing frequencies along routes, the net effect being further reduction in service followed by further reduction in patronage, putting the industry in a classic case of a vicious downward spiral. Thus rational decisions taken by individual actors led to an overall irrational suboptimal outcome.

The increasing marginalization of public transport means that local authorities became extremely reluctant to take measures that can assist public transport , such as parking restrictions or bus priority in traffic, which further reduces the attractiveness of PT. Local authorities frequently stated that they cannot take traffic management measures until public transport becomes a viable alternative creating a chicken-and-egg situation. With public transport commuters mostly coming from the economically disadvantaged groups, the Government has also found it difficult to increase bus fares further adding to the problems of the industry.

With the failure of the farebox model, it became obvious that the laissez-faire model of regulation practised in the early days of the industry was not tenable. The Government reacted by creating new regulatory structures i.e. the Commercial Vehicles Licencing Board (CVLB) to take over the licensing functions previously handled by the Road Transport Department for road-based public transport and the Department of Railways for rail-based public transport. However these new organizations were on top of the existing organizations. Hence at one time there were 13 government agencies who had some form on role in the public transport arena. You can imagine the problems of ensuring coordination and coherence of policy and implementation.

In 2010 the planning and regulatory structure for public transport was streamlined with the formation of the Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) to replace the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board and the Department of Railways in Peninsular Malaysia. This, for the first time, brought under one organization both the planning of public transport networks and operations with the licensing functions of public transport operators and vehicles. It also integrated the planning of road-based public transport modes with rail-based public transport systems. There was a reason why a Commission structure was adopted instead of a standard government Department of Public Transport. One was to inculcate greater professionalism and continuity in the staff as previously staff at LPKP and DOR were transferred every few years. Another was to allow a greater measure of professional independence. However I must point out that this is not absolute independence as we are still a Government agency and we are still bound by Cabinet decisions and directives. In fact our Act expressly allows the Minister to give directions to the Commission.

The formation of SPAD does not mean that integration in public transport has been fully achieved. For example while planning and licencing of bus routes is the responsibility of SPAD, the approval of drivers’ public service vehicle licences and indeed of the buses themselves are under the purview of the Road Transport Department.

While not as well known, similar situation of fragmented responsibility exists in the rail sector as well. We have three bodies The existing governance structure dates back to 1992 with the implementation of the Railways Act 1991. In accordance with this Act, Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) was corporatized as Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd. (KTMB), fully owned by the Minister of Finance, Inc., the Department of Railways (DOR) was established to ensure and promote safe, efficient and affordable railway transport system in Malaysia i.e. the planning and regulatory role, while the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) was established to carry out the management of all assets and liabilities which is owned and liable by KTM including railway lands.  Both the DOR and RAC were placed under the Ministry of Transport and thus a single agency was ultimately responsible for both infrastructure development and service planning.

However, in 2010, with the coming into force of the Land Public Transport Act 2010, and the repeal of the Railways Act insofar as Peninsular Malaysia is concerned, DOR’s role and staff for Peninsular Malaysia was subsumed into SPAD and with it the planning and regulatory role was also transferred to SPAD which is under the Prime Minister’s Department. So now there is a situation where the operator of commuter and inter-city services (KTMB) reports to the Ministry of Finance, the planning and regulatory role is under the Prime Minister’s Department through SPAD while the infrastructure development role remained with the Ministry of Transport through RAC. This is just one of the legacy issues that I mentioned earlier


Issues and Challenges

(i)          Increasing Vehicle Ownership

One of the main reasons is of course the high rate of private vehicle ownership. According to a World Bank study published in June 2015, Malaysia today is among the countries in the world with the highest incidence of car ownership. This study used 2011 data and it showed that outside of Eastern Europe, among all the middle-income countries in the world, Malaysia had the highest rate of car ownership. This is just car ownership. It does not include motorcycle ownership. I am sure that if the World Bank included motorcycle ownership, Malaysia would have highest rate of private vehicle ownership among all the middle-income countries in the world, bar none.

Road Transport Department statistics show that between 1997 and 2012, the number of private vehicles registered increased from 8.5 million to 22.7 million. This average annual growth rate of 6.7% is three times the population growth rate of 2% and 1.6 times the growth rate of the economy as a whole which was 4.2%. While in many countries increased car ownership does not automatically translate into increased car usage, in Malaysia it does. Based on surveys conducted by MIROS, the vehicle-km driven in Malaysia during the period 1997 – 2012 increased at an average annual rate of 7.0%, higher even than the 6.7% increase in vehicle ownership. So in Malaysia once a person has a car or a motorcycle, he or she stops using the bus.


(ii)        Integration of Land Use Planning and Public Transport Planning

An analysis of the land use pattern of Malaysian cities shows that Malaysian cities are sprawling cities and as they increase in population, the urban sprawl seems to increase. Take Greater KL for example. In Dec 1990, the population of Greater KL was 3.08 million and the urban land area was 621 sq. km. In Dec 1999, population increased to 5.97 million and the built up area increased to 1,555 sq. km. In other words a population increase of 3.55% led to a built-up area increase of 7.92% or more than double the population increase. Hence the urban density is actually decreasing as the population is increasing. The same pattern is being repeated in other cities such as Penang and Johor Bahru. In fact a 2011 World Bank report stated that of the 15 developing countries in their East Asian and Pacific region, Malaysia had the 4th largest built-up land mass. Please keep in mind that this region covers China, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and many other countries with much higher population than Malaysia.

The need to integrate land use planning and public transport planning is the holy grail of urban transport professionals everywhere. Yet, in the Malaysian context this has proved extraordinarily difficult to implement in practice. Again there are two main factors which hinder such integration, namely institutional and methodological.

The institutional responsibility for land use planning rests with local authorities in the respective states. As the key officials in local authorities are appointed by the respective state governments, it can be seen that land use planning is within the purview and jurisdiction of the state and local governments. Public transport planning on the other hand is the responsibility of SPAD. Hence there is a need to institutionalize cooperation between SPAD and the state/local governments to ensure that better coordination can be achieved in practice.

A start in this institutionalization process was the decision of the National Physical Planning Council in July 2012 to form State-level Public Transport Technical Coordinating Committees in each state in Peninsular Malaysia. Pursuant to this decision, such committees have been formed in all 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia. The Director, State Economic Planning Unit chairs the committee while SPAD acts as the secretariat. While these Committees do not have executive power. They nevertheless help to sensitize state and local government officials on the need to consider public transport issues in their normal work. An encouraging case in point is the decision of the Johor State Government to have public transport plans prepared for each local authority.

A starting point for the development of common methodologies for coordinating land use planning with public transport planning is transit-oriented development (TOD). TOD in Malaysia is in its infancy but its importance in both land use planning and public transport planning has been recognized. The 2nd National Physical Plan (NPP2) stated that TOD concept will be promoted as the basis of urban planning to ensure viability of public transportation. TOD has also been identified as one key action plan in the NLPTMP in supporting the achievement of 40% modal share by 2030. SPAD has developed planning guidelines aspects of TOD. These guidelines also consider the implications for public transport planning and service provision. The methodologies proposed in the guidelines can also be adapted to plan for better coordination between land use development and public transport service provision on a corridor basis.


(iii)      Better Coordination between Public Transport Planning and Highway/Road Construction Planning

Road and highway construction have an obvious impact on public transport usage. Sometimes the impact is positive for public transport since buses need the road network to serve origins and destinations effectively. New road/highway construction can also help facilitate the introduction of new public transport services such the bus rapid transit (BRT) services. At other times, the impact is negative since by providing better travelling conditions for private vehicles, they act as a further barrier to greater usage on public transport. Hence there needs to be better coordination between public transport planning and highway/road construction planning. The current level of coordination between these two key aspects of overall transport planning is lacking and needs to be improved. There are two main factors hindering such coordinated planning. The first is institutional in nature while the second is methodological in nature.

On the institutional side, highway/road construction planning is the responsibility of the Ministry of Works and its agencies such as the Public Works Department and the Malaysia Highway Authority. On the public transport side, SPAD is the lead agency for public transport planning. Each of these agencies has its institutional focus/bias and thus cannot act as the lead agency for coordinated transport planning. Furthermore more, in the case of SPAD, its legal remit is clear in restricting it to public transport only.

The methodological barrier to better coordination arises from the fact that the two transport modes use different planning methodologies. In simplifying matters, highway planning focuses on the level of service for vehicles on a particular road with the passenger car unit as the unit of analysis. Public transport planning on the other hand focuses on ridership with cost-effectiveness per passenger as the unit of analysis. Because of the differing methodologies it is difficult to develop a common appraisal methodology to assess alternatives between road and public transport proposals. It is therefore necessary to develop a common appraisal method which can be translated into comparable methodologies for both road and public transport planning and appraisal. Considering that the purpose of transport networks whether highway/road or public transport is to provide mobility for people, the unit of analysis for the common appraisal methodology should be the efficiency of the proposed solution to move people taking into account cost, fuel usage and emissions.


(iv)      First-Mile and Last-Mile Connectivity

Feeder transport is a key component of any public transport system. This is because it serves local areas and brings passengers to nearby transfer/interchange points where passengers can board trunk services. This is especially critical for urban rail services which are the backbone of the public transport system in the Greater KL/Klang Valley region. Spot checks conducted by SPAD reveal that feeder services suffer from several deficiencies. Some feeder buses took a very long time to reach their destination. For example the feeder bus from Sri Rampai LRT station to Lebuh Ampang took 45 mins in one direction and 60 mins in the reverse direction to cover a distance of only 12.5 km.

A second problem was the waiting time for feeder buses at LRT stations varied from 20 mins to 30 mins. The long waiting times are due to the low number of buses operating on feeder routes. In many cases the waiting times for feeder bus services was longer than the journey time. For example for the feeder bus T416 for the Serdang KTM Kommuter station, the waiting time was 40 mins for a journey time of 26 mins in one direction and waiting time of 60 mins for a journey time of 40 mins in the reverse direction. The end result of such excessive waiting and travelling times adds to the overall door-to-door travel times. All this travelling and waiting times do not include the last-mile journey from the feeder bus stops which would normally be done walking.

The 2013 GKL Travel Study carried out some comparative analysis of door-to-door travelling times during the morning peak by urban rail and by private cars. It showed that on average the total time for a rail journey was 1.76 times longer than the same journey by private car. The main factor contributing to the long journey times is the time taken to travel from home to the rail station. Generally, morning peak users walk from the rail station to their destination. So the main problem is actually the first-mile connectivity i.e. from the home to the railway station.

This problem arises from the housing land use pattern in Malaysia where the norm for housing estates is link or terrace houses spread out for a relatively large area rather than high-density condominium or dense housing as is the case in Singapore or Hong Kong. For high density housing, feeder buses perform relatively well because the feeder routes can be relatively short and direct and the feeder bus stations can be placed close to the housing estates. When houses are spread out, these operational advantages of feeder buses are lost. To provide access to as many houses as possible, feeder routes are to be relatively long and meandering. This results in relatively long feeder bus journey times. The alternatively of having multiple feeder routes is not practiced because buses, having relatively high capital costs need to be utilized for about 250 km per day to be efficient. Hence the number of buses that are deployed on feeder services is not sufficient to keep headways reasonable.

The solution for feeder services in the Malaysian context thus cannot be the conventional bus. We need to use vehicles that have lower capital and operational costs so that a larger number of feeder services could be provided within a particular housing area. This would enable shorter journey times, shorter waiting times and reduced walking distance to feeder service stands.


Consequence of Low Public Transport Modal Share

This low modal share of public transport has its consequences on the social and economic life of the country. The most obvious is traffic congestion. The Ministry of Works stated that 38% of all Federal roads in the country many of which provide access to urban centres are either severely congested or extremely congested. The situation is especially bad in the Greater Kuala Lumpur region, but it is getting bad even in other cities. No one, I know, not even the most committed car aficionado, likes sitting in the traffic jam. And yet this is what the reality is for many people. Surveys show that in GKL, on average residents commute 29km/hr slower in the morning peak than in the off-peak. In the evening peak, it is 20 km/hr slower. It is therefore no surprise that in a survey of global mobility carried out by a consultant firm, 41% of Malaysians stated that road congestion as their highest source of frustration, higher than the Asia-Pacific average of 35% and the global average of 29%. Thus congestion, due to the high use of private vehicles, has a major adverse impact of the social well-being of Malaysians.

Equally important is the economic cost to the country resulting from this high reliance on private cars. This cost arises from various factors, the time cost of delays in journey times, the cost of additional fuel burnt because of the stop-go nature of travelling in traffic jams, and the cost of additional carbon and other emissions. The World Bank did a first-line estimate of the costs of congestion for the economy. It found that time delays cost the Malaysian economy anywhere between RM10 – 19 billion a year, fuel costs about RM0.9 – 2.4 billion, and pollution costs when monetized cost RM0.9 – 2.7 billion annually. The total costs of congestion therefore were between RM12.7 – 24.7 billion a year. This means that the predominant reliance on private vehicles was costing the Malaysian economy anywhere from 1.1% - 2.2% of our Gross Domestic Product.

Some of you might think that this loss to the economy is just a notional cost, just a theoretical cost. So let me use another measure, this time a financial measure, to show the costs of our individual modal choice of relying on private vehicles. A 2012 survey showed that transport costs accounted for slightly over 8% of household expenditure in Seoul, slightly less than 8% for a household in Shanghai, and only 4% of household expenditure for a household in Tokyo and Hong Kong. The corresponding figure for a household in Kuala Lumpur was 10%, and this was the same for households in other cities like Georgetown, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan and Johor Bahru. So Malaysian households are proportionately spending a much higher percentage of their monthly income on transport than cities where the modal share of public transport is high. This, ladies and gentlemen is the cost of our love affair with our cars.


THE WAY FORWARD

Clearly the way forward is self-evident. If we are serious about people-centric mobility for social and economic development, we need to find a way to fulfil human needs in a sustainable manner enabling those needs to be met indefinitely. Conceptually it has three main dimensions – social, economic and environmental. In social terms, mobility is a basic necessity of contemporary life and we cannot hope to restrict mobility without having adverse impacts for individuals access to important services. In economic terms, we simply cannot afford to go on building more roads to try to satisfy mobility demands through private vehicles, since the more the demand the higher the costs of trying to do so. This is the key difference between the two options to satisfy increasing demands. If we choose the private vehicle option, we have to keep on building more highways, more roads and more interchanges. Even if it were possible to do so, the unit costs would only keep rising. However, since transit is a shared service, it benefits from the economics of agglomeration resulting from high densities and from economies of scale arising from high demand. So the higher the demand for public transport, the lower the unit costs to provide them. In environmental terms, again the advantages of public transport in terms of lower emissions per user is compelling.

Hence people-centric mobility means that we have to achieve a new balance between the personal and the collective, between private vehicles and public transport. We cannot continue to be in a situation where the share of public transport remains in single digits for the vast majorities of our cities. That is why the National Land Public Transport Master Plan has as its target a 40% modal share for public transport in all urban areas. Achieving this target will require tremendous efforts at a policy level, at a governmental level. This is because the root cause of the problem, is urban sprawl which is a classic case of market failure, although not often documented as such.

Policy makers in Malaysia currently have two major policy tools to guide the pattern of urban development. The first is transport infrastructure and service provision investment policy. If we want to foster a compact urban form, then our transport investment has to necessarily give priority to public transport investment. If we instead give priority to building roads in the name of connectivity and relieving congestion and leave public transport until later, then we can be sure that the city urban form will be shaped by private vehicle use and the task of installing public transport and changing travel behaviour will be more difficult.

In many respects, decision-makers accept the case for rail-based public transport. Hence the tremendous investment in urban rail systems in the Greater Kuala Lumpur region over RM70 billion in committed expenditure. Even for service provision, the Government either directly or indirectly, is subsidizing all rail-based public transport, at an average of 34% of the fares. Even with the recent fare increases, the operators will not get enough fare revenue to cover their operating costs and thus have to rely on Government subsidies.

But what about other cities, especially cities that have not yet reached the threshold populations that make urban rail systems a viable alternative? Unfortunately here the picture is less encouraging. The case for investment in bus services is accepted at an intellectual level but not at the visceral level by many key decision-makers. Even though the Government has accepted the Stage Bus Services Transformation based on the gross-cost model as the permanent solution for bus services in second- and third-tier cities in Malaysia, the amount of financing allocated is not yet enough to implement this in all state capitals let along all second- and third-tier urban areas. We Malaysians always like to compare our bus system to those of other countries. Yet we conveniently forget how much it costs to provide such good service. London and now  Singapore are both funding 35% of the cost of their bus services. Smaller cities like Perth in Australia and Waikato in New Zealand require even higher funding at close to 70%. 

To date the Government allocated RM470 million for the Interim Stage Bus Support Fund and only RM100 million for its permanent replacement – the Stage Bus Services Transformation. We in SPAD estimate that full implementation will require about RM972 million and then reduce to about RM300 million per year. In the larger scheme of things, this does not seem too high but yet we have not yet been able to get the budget allocation for it. The reasons are many, buses are seen as a declining mode, that it is not patronized by many Malaysians, that it is almost a lost cause. This is a defeatist attitude. Yes, the ridership is not high at the moment. It has been declining for over 30 years. They cannot be reversed immediately. The SBST must be given time and allocation to show that bus services are a viable public transport solution for our second- and third-tier cities. As I mentioned earlier, the pilot implementation in Kangar and Seremban showed that ridership increased by an average of 30%. SPAD is also doing its part to reduce government reliance, encourage sustainability, and boost ridership. Our future innovations include sophisticated network planning in state capital cities across the Peninsular to cover high-value intercity routes, the introduction of a smartphone app called Journey Planner to help commuters plan their travel, and vigilantly monitoring bus operator performance through introducing quality incentives and penalties on non-performance.

The second policy tool that the Government has is policy on land use. We, and here I mean State Governments and Local Authorities must use all powers at their disposal to increase the density of urban areas. Urban sprawl must be checked and where possible reversed. State and local governments must adopt as a matter of policy what I like to call the 4C approach – to foster compact, connected and coordinated cities.

Different cities can apply the 4C approach in different ways. Small and medium-sized cities in Malaysia growing at 6% or more per year could design-in compact urban growth features from the start. These include integrating residential, commercial and industrial areas and designing efficient public transport routes. They could provide connected infrastructure by introducing road-based public transit system such as the conventional bus and Bus Rapid Transit systems. Where appropriate urban rail systems including trams could also be provided. They can introduce coordinated governance by building up capacity, systems and procedures to carry out integrated land use – transport planning in a pro-active manner.

One such practical way to do this is to encourage transit-oriented development (TOD). Currently in Malaysia, we only have one true TOD i.e. the KL Sentral area. Why aren’t we having more such developments? The upcoming MRT projects have such potential for TOD. Indeed I would like us to go beyond the TOD around stations and instead expand it to TOD corridors along rail and BRT corridors. Certainly more clarity is needed regarding the legal processes and the implementation processes, we have start to do this now. Retrofitting is not just more difficult but also more costly. This is the irony of development. The price of land along transit corridors goes up not because of anything the land owners did but because the Government spent money to do this. Then afterwards if we try to acquire more land for TOD, the Government has to pay the new higher costs of the land. So the Government pays twice.

Medium and large Malaysia cities expecting growth rates of 5-6% per annum could introduce several compact urban growth strategies. These include re-densification through regeneration of existing city cores and supporting hubs, developing multiple hubs, encouraging brownfield re-development, encouraging transit-oriented developments and urban retrofitting as well as managed growth of the urban periphery.

Planning and implementation of all these initiatives requires skilled human resources. We need well-qualified engineers, economists and planners for this purpose. This is where universities have a role to play. You are the ones who ae going to train our future generation of public transport professionals and so it is my hope that you will later your courses to meet the demands of the sector. We in SPAD have set up an SPAD Academy and it is my hope that all universities will collaborate with the Academy to increase the number of industry-ready professionals. At the same time, we also hope that academics in our universities will extend the frontiers of knowledge in fields relevant to public transport especially in the areas of methodological advancements that I identified earlier.


Conclusion

All this may sound academic and theoretical for some of you. Let me assure you that it is not. It will affect how our cities and thus how we live our lives in the future. Do we want urban sprawl or a compact city? Do we want a car-oriented city or a public transport-oriented city? In case you are not sure let me refer you to an objective guide. Every year the Mercer consulting firm publishes the city quality of life index. For the 2014 edition, the top five cities are in order of their ranking Vienna, Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver. All except Vancouver are very compact cities with good public transport. Even Vancouver is relatively compact by North American standards and is noted for its good public transport system. Thus the choices that we make today will influence our quality of life tomorrow. This is why I mentioned that in the end the most important thing about public transport is the public. We must transform pubic transport to ensure that it becomes the first choice of the rakyat and not the last resort. This is what we in the present generation owe our children and our grandchildren to ensure that they have a better quality of life.


Thank you.