When I returned to Malaysia at the beginning of this month and updated myself on local news, I could not help but notice the return of the YTL proposal for a High-Speed Rail link between KL and Singapore.

Apparently YTL CEO Francis Yeoh is not going to take the rejection of his proposal lying down. Perhaps he hopes that, with a new prime minister and a new set of ears, his proposal might be accepted this time. Whatever his reasons, I do admire him for his persistence and determination.

It certainly seems that many among the public are strongly in favour of the KL-Singapore High Speed Rail project. After all, high speed certainly sounds good, and the government has seemingly unlimited amounts of money that it could give to Francis Yeoh to spend on this vital railway project. High-Speed Rail is good for the environment, having a private company initiate the project is good for the economy, and of course everyone loves technology.

So why do I feel that the YTL proposal is just inappropriate right now?

Francis Yeoh has a strong ambition for growth and his company does have some experience with the KLIA express rail link, (which offers the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit service). But is the company capable of building such a massive engineering project, dealing politically with two different national governments (Malaysia and Singapore) and the governments of five different states (KL, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor) - all with their own special needs?

When the project is built, will YTL be capable of managing the High Speed Rail service to the expectations of passengers?

We must also consider the competition. The recent entry of AirAsia and Jetstar into the KLIA-Singapore route has already created challenges for the MAS-SIA Shuttle.

Then we must consider the upcoming entry of Firefly into the mix, with service on the Subang-Singapore route coming before the end of this year. Bus service (especially express bus) between KL and Singapore is a growing market.

Putting all of this together, one wonders if there really is a market for high speed rail between KL and Singapore?

Finally, we must put this proposal in its proper context. Existing public transport (bus, taxi, KTM, LRT) in Malaysia is largely in a terrible state.

Having a high tech line sounds great but will the KL-Singapore HSR (as well as KL-Ipoh, Malacca Aerorail, Penang LRT/Aerobus, more LRT in KL, Johor Baru Maglev train, etc.) improve the overall state of public transport.

The sad truth is that they will not. And that is exactly why the government, Francis Yeoh and others should not let themselves get carried away by technology. We do not deserve a high speed rail if we cannot even get the buses and taxis to operate properly.

If Francis Yeoh really wants to improve public transport in Malaysia, he should have YTL take over a few taxi or bus companies and make them work properly, and also look at extending the KLIA Transit service to more communities (Seremban or Rawang, perhaps?).

And I am sure that Prasarana would appreciate it if YTL would invest in expanding the KL Monorail service.

Once YTL has succeeded in those areas, then we can talk about High Speed Rail.

(The letter is written on behalf of TRANSIT - The Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit)