Govt should rethink KL-S’pore fast train?

I'm still hold my standing. No way government is going to approve the project in near 3 years time. No way, and why?

Firstly, China's budget deficit is significantly lower than Malaysia in percentage wise. In terms of tax revenues/GDP, China is definitely a few order magnitude stronger than Malaysia. Therefore the capital/resources available at China government disposal obviously afford for more large projects.

Secondly, if everyone wish is granted without prioritization, government is going to go broke or the expenditures will be repaid by our future generations, a.k.a. generational effects.

Thirdly, energy efficiency is a big concern, yes, but not to the extent that inflation brings. Current oil rushes, imho, are just temporary and once the fever over, we shall see a back-fire effect of spending too much money on so called energy efficiency mega projects. I'm not totally against efforts to cut down global warming effects, but sometimes the benefits those projects promise outweigh by the opportunity cost of spending it to improve poverty situation.

The people in economy planning unit are not stupid, as as a matter of fact they might be the top of the cream in the country. Balancing economy cycle is daunting task and why we want to risk a project that might fail in favour of those that guarantee higher rate of sucess?

Just my cents, no offense.

Govt should rethink KL-S’pore fast train

WHILE China managed to upgrade the existing railway train system to about 200km/hr for interlink cities like Shanghai to Zhejiang, Suzhou, our Government rejects the proposal to have a KL-Singapore high-speed train.

I’m a Johorian working in the Klang Valley. Travelling to Kota Baru or Kuala Terengganu takes six to eight hours. How I wish there were a high-speed train service to travel there in three to four hours.

The long hours of travel just make me opt for a vacation in Bali, Phuket, instead of Kota Baru or Kuala Terengganu.

Moreover, energy efficiency is a big concern for us in future, high-speed trains surely saves us the cost and time.

In addition, the economy will receive a boost with the high-speed rail connection and tourism will be greatly enhanced because more tourists will be on the go domestically.

I hope alternative improvements can be done to the existing railway system in Malaysia in the mean time.

Competition necessitates improvement. If KTM can’t perform, why we should let it monopolise and delay our momentum?

C.K. LAU,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.