Almost 56 years after Merdeka (Independence), Malaysians are still compelled to travel by the same old and slow KTM trains. From KL to Butterworth or Johor Baru, the train journey still takes around eight to nine hours.

A country so richly endowed with natural resources (including petroleum) and with a population of only 28 million people, why is it impossible for the government to provide fast and efficient train services to the people?

A lot of people will be only too happy to use the train to travel to Alor Star which may take only 90 minutes when super train services are available. Of course one may opt to fly, but then flying involves travelling time to and from the airport, queuing to check in, and time taken to retrieve luggage.

A return trip from KL to Alor Star by plane may take up to four to five hours spent on time to go to and from the airports, plus time taken to claim your luggage.

Even Hainan in China has a super train service between Haikou and Sanya, which takes only 90 minutes to cover a distance of about 300km. In addition, Taiwanese have already enjoyed fast, efficient, convenient train service for years.

Malaysia is behind many other Asian countries because of corruption, mismanagement, incompetence, a lack of planning, and racial and religious bigotry. Malaysian leaders should spruce up and focus on improving the well-being of the people now.