Why Are There So Many Lorries Cars And Motorcycles In Malaysia

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CAR-CENTRIC planning is to be blamed, which is what we often read, with comparisons made between Malaysia and other countries, or the Klang Valley with other large cities.
Those who cannot afford cars ride motorcycles, exposing themselves to the elements and danger of falling, which can result in serious injuries or even death, especially if rolled over by passing vehicles.
In 2022, the total number of new motorcycles sold in Malaysia was 720,000. In 2023, the total number of new vehicles registered was 799,731, comprising 719,160 private motorcars and 80,571 commercial vehicles.
Obviously, most Malaysians commute using their cars or motorcycles, instead of relying on public transport. A very low percentage of goods in our country are transported by rail.
In the largest state of Sarawak, there is not even a single railway track. The only one in Sabah is 134km long, from Tenom to Tanjung Aru, 5km before Kota Kinabalu.
Apart from the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), LRT/MRT tracks in the Klang Valley, and those built by the British, there are no other railway lines in peninsular Malaysia.
The West Coast Line from Padang Besar to Johor Bahru and the East Coast Line from Gemas to Kota Bharu were completed in stages before the first and second world wars. No additional major railway lines were added after that.
Even ECRL was halted after the owner of the project Malaysia Rail Link was instructed to renegotiate the terms of the agreement with the main contractor China Communications Construction Company, and work resumed 10 months later in July 2019.
Unlike roads and railway tracks built during British times, the ECRL project includes the construction of 41 tunnels and 219 bridges.
In the olden days, crossing rivers was a big challenge. Many river crossings were without bridges, and pontoon ferries had to be used.
After the Belfied Bridge in Klang was bombed during World War II, a temporary Bailey Bridge was used until the double-decker Kota Bridge was completed in 1961, which was closed to vehicles in 1991 after a new bridge was built, and later two more bridges were added in Klang.
Peninsular Malaysia is mountainous and water from heavy rains flows down the mountains and passes through hilly terrains before reaching narrow coastal plains and emptying into the sea.
As such, many roads were built parallel to rivers, meandering around hills and mountains.
In many towns and cities including Kuala Lumpur, there are few streets that run straight all the way, unlike American cities with a grid-like street pattern, where streets intersect at right angles, creating a network of square or rectangular blocks.
In recent decades, many streets and roads in Kuala Lumpur were straightened and widened. Treacher Road in Kuala Lumpur was narrow and winding but was transformed into Jalan Sultan Ismail, which appears flat but is at the foothill of Bukit Nanas and connects to Bintang Hill.
In 1952, the 1,200-acre Effingham rubber estate was chosen for housing development to address overpopulation and squatter issues in Kuala Lumpur.
Later, the surrounding area was developed into a satellite town called Petaling Jaya, which gained city status in 2006.
After independence in 1957, many developers started to build houses in old rubber estates and call them gardens, near major towns such as Kuala Lumpur, Klang, Penang, Ipoh and Johor Bahru. Many were small and could be next to each other but disjointed without coordination.
In any case, most of the new housing built did not take public transport into main consideration, made worse without proper planning by the authorities, other than looking into population density.
Now, it is too late in the day to get Malaysians to switch from private to public transport.
As for the whole country, it is an impossible task, as housing, farming and manufacturing are too spread out and people are scattered to make public transport viable.
Instead, greater focus should be made to improve existing public transport for passengers already using them. 
YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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