Breaking Free From The Car Trap To Reclaim Mobility

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 Reform doesn’t come easy as it threatens revenue and disrupts political comfort zones, but the cost of inaction is immeasurable.
If car ownership in Malaysia is a trap—enforced by federal taxation and reinforced by state-level urban sprawl—then escaping it requires more than just better roads or a new train line, like the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).
It requires a total rethinking of how transport is financed, how cities are planned, and how different levels of government coordinate their roles.
For decades, both the federal and state governments have sustained, either actively or passively, a model that puts private cars at the centre of Malaysian life.
That model is crumbling under its own weight: crippling household debt, high rates of fatal accidents, congestion, environmental stress and a gaping inequality in access to mobility.
The question is no longer whether reform is needed. It is who will push, and who will resist it.
Breaking the car dependency addiction
At the core of Malaysia’s car-dependency problem lies the federal government’s reliance on vehicle-related revenue. Excise duties, import tariffs, sales tax, fuel levies, and toll concession agreements all feed directly into national finances.
This steady revenue stream has made the car economy difficult to disrupt.
But real reform begins with recognition of the problem. We must accept the fact that the government is not a neutral player. It benefits from the very system the public wants changed.
So, what can be done?
First, ring-fence revenue from car-related taxation—such as road tax, registration fees, and licensing income—and allocate this fixed proportion to public transport development and maintenance, not administrative overhead or general-purpose budgets.
These are funds drawn from the people’s mobility needs and should be reinvested accordingly.
Second, end the practice of evaluating transport infrastructure by the cost-revenue equation which only measures profitability.
Rail systems and bus rapid transit (BRT) routes must be treated as public goods, essential for economic inclusivity and social equity—not mere business ventures on their own.
State governments must stop designing cities for cars.
While the federal government sets transport policies and collects taxes, state governments control the land—and therefore shape town and city development.
Yet, across most of Malaysia, new housing estates, commercial centres, schools, universities and industrial parks continue to be approved without public transport access, pedestrian connectivity, or proximity to economic centres.
Roads and highways are pre-planned; train and bus access are optional at best.
This must change.
If states are serious about solving congestion and improving the quality of life, they must redesign planning approvals to prioritise walkability, e-mobility, density and transit accessibility.
Housing developers should be compelled—or incentivised—to build in line with transit-oriented development (TOD) principles, and not continue sprawling developments that can only be accessed by private vehicles.
Local councils, which fall under state jurisdiction, must also be empowered and expected to invest in pedestrian, e-mobility pathways, cycling lanes, BRT networks, and safe last-mile connections.
Without this shift at the state level, even the best-funded federal transit projects will be disconnected from daily life.
MRT 1 and 2, and soon Penang LRT and MRT3, have all fallen or are likely to fall into these pitfalls.
Ending debt-fuelled car ownership
Malaysia’s car loan culture is not just a financial risk—it is a direct consequence of policy neglect.
In a context where public transport is weak and cities are built around cars, buyers are nudged into long-term loans that make vehicles appear affordable on a month-to-month basis, but devastatingly expensive over time.
To reverse this:
The federal government must cap car loan durations to a maximum of four or five years—forcing a correction in pricing and financing logic.Zero down payment schemes targeting low-income groups must be banned. These programmes mask the unaffordability of car ownership while trapping B40 and M40 families in long-term debt.Car loan approvals must be tied to cost-of-living indices and actual income thresholds, not just bank-assessed credit scores.This is not about limiting mobility. It’s about acknowledging that easy access to cars—in a system with no viable public transport — is a form of predatory convenience.
Rail as backbone
Malaysia cannot reduce car dependency until intercity rail becomes the norm, the transport of choice—viable, fast, and accessible.
At present, even large cities remain unconnected by frequent, high-speed rail. ETS service is limited. KTM remains slow, lethargic and fragmented. Meanwhile, outside the Klang Valley, public rail is a patchwork—not a network.
We must think in terms of a national strategy for rail, beyond the present KTM and ECRL network.
There is a need to:
Complete electrified double-tracking along all major corridors, including East Coast states.Extend ETS-style high-speed trains to Penang, Kedah, coastal Perak, Kelantan, Pahang and eastern Johor.Develop a network of freight services with scattered freight terminals to shift heavy goods from roads to rail. This will reduce heavy vehicles with massive loads plying our roads, reducing the number of serious highway accidents.Develop integrated intermodal hubs in every state capital, connected by BRT, e-hailing taxis, and last-mile services.Commit to a high-frequency, low-fare service that competes with, rather than supplements, cars as a mode of travel.This is not utopian.
Countries that manufacture cars—Germany, France, Japan and China—have also built rail networks as their national transport backbone. And they attract huge passenger and freight customer support.
Malaysia must follow suit, not as a luxury project, but as a necessity.
Urban mobility for people
Beyond intercity links, urban planning must be reoriented toward people.
Federal policies and state approvals must work in tandem to prioritise compact, liveable neighbourhoods where residents can walk, cycle or use transit without depending on a car.
This means:
Reducing parking space requirements in new developments.Retrofitting commercial areas with protected pedestrian only zones, e-mobility and cycling lanes.Reclaiming city centres for mixed-use life, not just traffic flow.Promoting affordable housing near transport hubs, not luxury condos near vacant stations.Most importantly, public transport must be dignified and desirable—not just affordable. It should be clean, punctual, safe and respected—a sign of smart urban citizenship, not poverty.
A political reckoning
The car trap is not just a policy failure—it is a structure that has worked exactly as intended, for those who benefit from it: federal and state governments, car manufacturers, car dealers, toll concession holders, financiers and bankers.
Reform will not come easily. It threatens revenue, disrupts political comfort zones, and requires federal–state cooperation rarely seen in practice.
But the cost of inaction is mounting: more debt; more congestion; more road accidents, more environmental harm; more time lost, and more inequality entrenched.
We must stop pretending that this is the price of development. It isn’t.
It is the result of deliberate choices—and the time has come to choose differently.
If Malaysians want real mobility, real cities, and real dignity in transport, we must demand it—not just from Putrajaya, but also from every state assembly and local council.
Because the car trap doesn’t end at the toll booth—it ends only when we stop building the system that demands it. - FMT
The author can be reached at: [email protected]
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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