Asia Times: Malaysia chokes on car culture



	August 11, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Malaysia chokes on car culture
By Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia - A single lane of one-way traffic crawls between two rows of old shophouses along the once-thriving shopping district of Campbell Street on the northern Malaysian island of Penang.

But unlike other busy streets, this area has wide new sidewalks with seats at frequent intervals for weary shoppers, providing a haven for pedestrians and a ray of hope for the fading family-owned businesses in the area. The redesigned Campbell Street - touted as a ''pedestrian mall'' even though some traffic still flows along it - marks a small victory for pedestrians in car- and motorbike-crazy urban Malaysia.

On this street dotted with ornate street lamps, pedestrians rule. Vehicular traffic flows more calmly and shoppers do not need to have an insurance policy before crossing the narrow tiled road. The disabled who use wheelchairs, long accustomed to the sharp drops that interrupt pavements elsewhere in the city, are raving about the street's long flat pavements.

''It's a good start,'' says Khoo Salma Nasution of the Penang Heritage Trust. ''For the first time, this road is really safe for pedestrians.''

To many, the development of a pedestrian-friendly area in downtown Penang is reassuring in a country where, as a tourist once said, ''pedestrians rank just below roaches'' in the pecking order on urban roads. But those promoting low-pollution and pollution-free sustainable transport - buses, bicycles, light rail transit systems, and walking - know that pedestrian malls such as Campbell Street's are rare oases amid the headlong rush into motorization by Malaysian cities.

As in many other cities in Southeast Asia, private vehicles dominate congested roads in Malaysian cities. The official solution for congestion: build more highways and widen roads. But new vehicles only too quickly fill up additional road space, making new roads at best a temporary relief.

Experts say that in the long term, a road-oriented approach promotes unsustainable transport patterns and car dependence, as the urban experience of the United States has shown. They say Asian countries like Malaysia should look to improving the network of public transport. ''For a developing country, Malaysia has a very low use of public transport compared with other Asian cities,'' says Paul Barter, coordinator of the Malaysia-based Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific.

Malaysian cities, says Barter, have gone quite a long way down a car-oriented path, ''but it is certainly not too late to change the emphasis of transport and urban policy to create a larger role for the gentler and more city-friendly transport modes, public transport, non-motorized vehicles and walking.''

This alternative approach, known as ''accessibility planning,'' involves an integrated package of policies to build alternatives to private vehicles and gradually restrain excessive car use. The need to travel long distances is gradually reduced by urban planning that brings more destinations within easy reach by foot, cycle or public transport.

''These policies do not bear fruit overnight but cities that have adopted such policies consistently over many years have achieved wonders,'' says Barter. Amsterdam, Zurich and a number of Japanese cities have succeeded in keeping car usage fairly low, despite high incomes and high car ownership, he points out.

Curitiba in Brazil is well-known for its innovative, low-cost transport system, which includes extensive, high-quality busways and a large, pedestrian-friendly city center. Its urban planning regulations ensure that the highest urban densities are found closest to the busways.

In contrast, Kuala Lumpur is one of the most car-dependent Asian cities. Part of the problem lies in Kuala Lumpur's relatively lower population density - 69 persons per hectare - and remote housing areas such as hilltop condominiums that are far away from the main roads. These make it harder to run a viable mass public transport system.

There is little incentive for the government to build efficient, integrated public transport systems, not when it sees promoting the ''national car'', Proton, as a priority. Exempt from import duties that other car manufacturers have to pay, Proton now has 60 percent of the Malaysian car market.

Firms with links to the ruling elite are also heavily involved in building toll highways, which are profitable deals given the government's backing for such projects and their high toll fees. The ruling coalition also builds roads ahead of general elections to win votes and boost construction activity.

A national daily reported that 112 toll-free road projects put on hold during the economic slowdown and valued at 4.2 billion ringgit are to be revived as a general election looms. ''There is always a road and car lobby,'' observed Khoo, adding that this works against incentives to build an efficient and integrated urban and inter-city public transport system.

With little public investment to improve speed and efficiency, Malaysia's inter-city trains chug along at a leisurely pace - slow and out-of-date compared with the high-speed trains found in Japan and Europe. In Kuala Lumpur, which has a new overhead light rail transit network whose fares have just been slashed, commuters still prefer to drive to work because many offices and homes are still far away from stations.

''The first step is to improve the bus system,'' explained Khoo. Cycling networks and pedestrian walkways are also needed, she adds, and these should be linked to light rail transit hubs. ''It should be an integrated system.''

Still, Barter, who has survived regular cycling in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, wrote in a paper recently that ''there is still time to prevent this trend going too far''. ''Malaysian cities have an opportunity to act now to gradually build up the role of public transport, and to promote walking and cycling in order to avoid facing greater problems in the future.''

(Inter Press Service)

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©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.

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