After 2 weeks, I am still featured on AsiaOne.com. ;)
I went back to KL yesterday (reached Kajang at 2am), thanks to the coach's delay (NICE owned by Plusliner Sdn Bhd - suppose to depart at 7.15pm but bus only arrived at 8.30pm) and horrendous jam at the causeway! It is pure common sense that Friday night has the most traffic that commutes between Singapore and Malaysia, yet our dear Immigration Department thinks one lane of immigration clerance is enough to cater for the masses of migration!
The traffic was very smooth from the bus terminal to Singapore immigration, but once we reached JB soil, I can see dozen buses ahead of mine! And the implementation of biometric scanning for foreigner adds to the anguish of travellers.
Implementation of unnecessary system at untimely hour! It took me 3 precious hours just to cross the border!
On surface, the government of Malaysia seems to be welcoming Singaporean but I have no freaking idea, why did they introduce biometric scanning! Besides, system breakdown in Malaysia is a norm, Why can't they just CHOP, CHOP like every other country? The hassle of this would be detrimental to the development of Iskandar Malaysia. Iskandar Malaysia cannot take off without foreign money pouring in, in particularly Singaporean money.
Malaysia Government loves to come out with new unnecessary project and initiative that cost a bomb but adds NO VALUE to the Raykat, it is very apparent it is a stance to suck out more taxpayer's money. No country is perfect and free from corruption but can YOU please implement something that at least benefits the Rakyat like a
1) MRT vs 100 storey warisan merdeka.
2) Scholarship to those in need vs 1.8m Facebook project
3) Increase civil servant salary (so that they don't corrupt) vs 1Msia email project.
I don't mind corruption if things are done properly, but the crappy thing about Malaysia government is that, they award projects to Tom, Dick and Harry with a bt or bte at the back, blow the budget and yet deliver shoddy work. If you want to protect your bumiputeras, I do not mind, at least train them to deliver better quality and service.
And please, can you start work on the bullet train between Singapore and Malaysia already? I don't care who gets the tender, just make sure they get it done properly and don't cut corners.
1 comments:
Hi,
I guess what you've highlighted is endemic to most countries, in that inefficiency and problems commonly dog the system; and even in Singapore the civil service is bogged down by excessive red tape and bureaucracy. I don't go Malaysia often but reading about the jams and the silly biometric system is enough to scare me off for a few more months at least. Previously, I used to know of some families who would hop over across the Causeway to purchae cheaper (in RM, of course) diapers and milk powder and other groceries; but with the congestion it does not seem like a viable and cost-effective choice anymore.
I've been around Malaysia's KL some time back and also Trengganu recently (2009) on a trip to Redang island. The problem I see in most of the country is still the lack of adequate infrastructure such as highways (yes, with lampposts all the way and not just near exit points) and telephone/telegraph lines, as well as business centres. Most of Malaysia is (to me) still very rural except for the focal point of KL, and for a country to prosper economically you need the Government to spend on infrastructure, communications and businesses. You are right to point out the unnecessary and wanton wastage on an expensive Facebook page; then again if the Top is so eager to protect its own interests and that of the Bumiputras, Malaysia would not have stagnated so much in the last few decades.
Truth be told, Singapore has its own problems and issues (expensive housing, exorbitant cars), but Malaysia needs to also seriously clean up its act and start investing in its people and the country.
Just my 2-cents.
Musicwhiz
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