Stop Using The Ecrl As A Political Bogeyman

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From CK Chee
I refer to the article “ECRL not likely to be profitable, says Amanah rep” which was published on your site recently.
Let me first preface my thoughts by stating that I was a former manager at KTMB who served as a rank-and-file civil servant there for 40 years before retiring last year.

In that time, I grew to love trains and even occasionally indulge in recreational trainspotting with several buddies of mine. Suffice to say, I eat, live and breathe trains.
Therefore, it pained me to read the article mentioned above.
My main concern is in how the people of this country are increasingly fashioning their views based solely on their political affiliations – and political leaders such as Faiz Fadzil are symptoms of this malaise.
The public transport ecosystem should be apolitical as it serves the people: that should be a no-brainer to either side of the political divide.
As such, politicians should in fact be striving to better improve our current services as it would most likely translate to stronger support for them.
Instead, what I see happening right now is that the ECRL is being used as a bogeyman by certain quarters to gain cheap political clout.
Take Faiz’s comments for example. Broadly, he is concerned about the ECRL’s profitability on the assumption that the projected cargo and passenger data is overinflated. As such, he fears the ECRL will need to be then bailed out by taxpayers’ money.
This line of argument misses several points.
Firstly, the ECRL is not a solely profit-driven venture. From my experience in KTMB, such cross-country trains are usually focused on passenger and cargo mobility, where the priority is reaching underserved communities.
Yes, profits still matter, but in so far as it is also able to effectively serve the people as an alternative travel option.
Next, I am very sure that the passenger and cargo load projections were made by certified personnel, who are experts in their field. Faiz’s cargo load comparison with the KTMB services in the west coast proves his lack of understanding of train systems in the country.
In the west coast, greater priority is given to passenger trains such as the KTM Komuter, KTM ETS and KTM Antarabandar which limits KTM Kargo’s services to just three hours a day.
His statement that “KTMB only managed to move six million tonnes of cargo in 2020, serving a line that has a catchment of 285 million tonnes in cargo” should reflect this three-hour window – but it doesn’t.
Therefore, the ECRL solves a clear problem here. It allows more cargo to be moved from the west coast to the east coast and, as such, would be able to soak up the demand that KTM Kargo is now unable to provide.
Finally, it must be noted that Faiz was conspicuously silent when the ECRL was under the stewardship of the current opposition. Where were these concerns then?
Personally, I am apolitical – I believe the side with the best policies and ideas should lead. But Faiz’s timing in raising this issue is telling. It almost feels as if the ECRL is being scapegoated to serve his own political ends.
After all, if one were to take his words at surface level, it does seem as if he is “fighting for the people”, which he most certainly is not.
I do not wish to make a mountain out of a molehill with this issue. My message is plain and clear.
Politicians are increasingly getting a bad reputation for politicising issues and dividing the people. This is a global phenomenon and is not limited to Malaysia.
Nevertheless, I would like to think that Malaysian cultural values allow us some degree of fairmindedness which politicians must defer to. Some things should be left outside of the political arena, especially if it can be beneficial to the people.
Such is the ECRL, and I hope in the future, it does not continue being the bogeyman it currently is. - FMT
CK Chee is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT

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