PM takes the train.
I read this and I felt a little dizzy. Amazing what news can do to me. lol. Done in a commentary-style nicked from Marina :)
Abdullah Rides The Commuter And LRT To Gauge Service Quality
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Bernama) — Setting aside protocol, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took rides on the commuter and LRT rail services from Serdang to the city centre Thursday to get a feel of the transportation problems faced by the public and came away less than satisfied. (Really? No shit. Oh, there is no universal ‘protocol’ that national leaders don’t take public transportation. Surely he can even gauge how bad traffic jams are in the capital but I guess he won’t know this since he has his helicopter, jet, yacht and his convoy of outriders.)
Throughout the one-hour journey, during which he switched trains, the prime minister noted the congestion, especially during the peak period, and spoke to his fellow passengers to get their feedback. (Hmm, I gather the Bernama journo was planted to witness this. So this makes it a PR exercise?)
Speaking to Bernama after disembarking at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, he said he was not satisfied with the rail services and wanted immediate improvements to be made.
He said the existing services were not systematic, there were not enough coaches and coverage was not comprehensive, leaving many areas not serviced.
“I just saw the plight of people using the trains to get to work every morning. They were jostling to get on board every time a train arrived. There appeared to be no system.
“I’m not happy with this because the people are not getting satisfaction from riding the trains. This we must fix,” he said.
“I found the trains really packed with so many passengers. Some had waited for three trains and yet could not board.
“There’s no queue. People push their way in, women with children and old people are pushed aside,” he added. (Wah, that’s a lot of complaints. So what are the immediate improvements that you want to made dear PM? Funny that, not a SINGLE suggestion from the people he spoke to were raised in this story.)
Abdullah, who was not accompanied by any officials from the two rail services, arrived at the Serdang Komuter KTM station at 8.15am but could not get on board the first train that arrived because it was packed. (What’s the officials gonna say to the PM anyway? “Ini macam biasalah. Apa boleh buat? Kita tak terdaya nak buat apa-apa”.)
He got on the next train which arrived 15 minutes later and headed for KL Sentral, the modern transportation hub for the various rail services.
There he also had to wait a while to switch to the Putra LRT service to get to the Masjid Jamek station because again, the first train to arrive was full. (Welcome to Putra LRT KL Sentral stop, where you wait and you wait some more.)
On both the trains that he took, the prime minister, dressed in a red batik shirt with golden print, had to stand although the passengers offered him their seats. (He had to stand although passengers offered their seats? Umm, I don’t get it. He CHOSE to stand you mean?)
Upon arrival at the Masjid Jamek station at 9.15am, he chatted with members of the the public and bought several types of local cakes from the sellers there before leaving.
Abdullah said he would give attention to efforts to improve the quality of both rail services. (Imagine him trying to speak to the million and one ministries and local authorities that have different says over what to do. Hmm. Good luck trying to get a consensus.)
He said trains that were not punctual and people scrambling to get into the trains caused problems to other passengers. (No shit again. Seriously, are all our ministers and people from the upper echelon of society know absolutely nothing about what the ordinary rakyat goes through?? Are their ivory towers so high and pompous above us all?)
Immediate steps would be taken including improving the train schedules, having a more systematic system and giving attention to senior citizens and women with children.(Fuck, man. Give attention to ALL the public transportation users lah. Everyone should benefit.)
“There were many more suggestions given me by the passengers for my attention. I will strive for improvements, I will propose changes,” he said. (Proposing isn’t enough. Act. Implement. Enforce. Upkeep. Talk is not cheap, it’s free.)
I use public transportation a fair bit. So you can imagine how I have a gazillion gripes over this issue (and the way the story was written as well as the PM’s actions). The story tries to project how prihatin the PM is but it seriously comes off showing how daft he is instead.
The way the entire exercise in gauging our public transportation is completely ridiculous. Does our PM not read letters in the papers? Does he not have advisers describing to him how difficult it is for the rakyat to cope with the godawful public transportation system? Why just KTM and LRT? What about super crazy errant taxi drivers?? And the corrupted police and DBKL that allows these buggers get away with flouting the laws? What about parking in town, Mat Rempits, congestion, regulation, integration? Why didn’t he take the damn bus as well???? He only did this for an hour. Try doing it twice a day, five days a week for 12 months.
Aaaargh! lol. I think my annoyance with this story was aggravated by my trip to Setiawangsa LRT today. The rain caused some short circuit in the system and the ticketing machines went haywire. There was a slight flood in the station, I believe. I saw lots of mops around. In gist, my TNG was unusable and I had to pay cash. Wtf? Oh and of course my journey was not short of pushing, shoving and elbow-jabbing but buat tak tau by LRT users. Sigh.
I sincerely hope those whom the PM spoke to gave him a slap piece of their mind. lol. If I had the chance, you bet I will give him mine and all of you guys’ too! :)
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:57 am
Actually, dear blooger, what exactly is your problem? Even the man tries to do something for everyone’s benefit also you cannot tahan? :)
from the first commentary to the last, I was laughing at your anger. Sorry about that but with comments like these, “(Really? No shit. Oh, there is no universal ‘protocol’ that national leaders don’t take public transportation. Surely he can even gauge how bad traffic jams are in the capital but I guess he won’t know this since he has his helicopter, jet, yacht and his convoy of outriders.)” I don’t think you want to be taken seriously.
So the man for once, took a train. Then you’re complaining how come he’s so blind he can’t see the road traffic jams?? Err…he’s boarding the train himself, he’s not in his so-called helicopter for the simple reason he wants to experience maybe for the first time in his life, what it feels like to be a train commuter. But that’s wrong to you. :)
And if he doesn’t do it, then it’s wrong to you too. haiyaaaa… no wonder you support PKR and anwar. :)
Then you end up wanting to slap him? Very non-violent of you. :)
Then when people say PKR supporters like to hit and grab people, and demo in the streets ala 1999, you get on your high horse claiming these are all BN supporters dressed up in PKR garb. Very nice answer for every problem under the sun, you got there fella. :)
Anyway, sorry for the intrusion. Hope you won’t want to slap ME, now.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:32 am
LOL
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:39 am
What’s this crap? 1001 Nights Re-visited?
If this is how a country is to be run with a feudal, puerile style of management, then we are really doomed. He’s only now awakened to the transport problems in KL after living here for the last donkeys years?
The ususal BN storym after the horse has bolted. Now they’ll come up with a $2 company which will be given the monopoly to come up with an National Integrated Transport Holistic Win-Win Paradigm Shafted Solution. And guess who will get the directly negotiated non-tendered out fat Kontrak?
You can be guaranteed that billions will be spent b4 they close the company which will be taken back by the Govt under a little -known 100% guaranteed buy-back clause protected by ISA/OSA. Sounds like a familiar tale repeated ad nauseum? You get a sense of deja vu. You bet!!
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:50 am
He chose to stand because he knew that if he was seated, he would fall asleep and miss his stop.
Well, the good thing is that they are proposing longer trains. Downside is that you never know who’s pockets are lined for that effort, or would it actually come into effect or not.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:22 am
zahar: i’m glad i made you laugh. i know! the horrible public transportation system has turned me into such an angry bitch. lol. but this is a gripe post lah, you expect me to sound happy is it? get on with the programme, yo. and your response as a PM sympathiser is expected lah. thanks for being the first! :)
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 am
wow!the PM made a suprise visits to ride the commuter and the lrt.
probably what Pak Lah mean by “protocol” is that the usual bodyguard and all the govt officials that follows him.you just can expect people of higher ranking to live their life as a normal joes like us.
Bernama - people trust Bernama more than any other printed media form in Malaysia.perhaps that’s why Bernama was there to capture and journaled the moments.
it’s just weird when we have too many problems here in Malaysia and we all want to have the PM to have his say or judgement on all those problems.of course first there’s proposal to find solutions for problems.after that the solutions gonna be evaluated.if all is well,then the implementation begins.dont just things to happen in a short period of time.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
zahar & others
The whole point in being PM is you rely on your MInisters to do the job. You think Warren Buffet & Bill Gates employ top managers and then do their jobs for them?
Otw, why have a Minister for Transport & a Minister. Ther are the ones who should be out there getting their hands ‘dirty’ in assessing the scale of the problem and coming up with solutions.
Either the PM does not understand how to manage a Cabinet or the Minister & top mandarins at the Min of Transport should be thrown out lock, stock & barrel. It’s not like these problems of transport suddenly appeared on the 21st of August 2008!!
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.cpm
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Watch out BN, you don’t want to wake up Dirty Harry
{ copy n paste }
Looking at the persistent daily low transaction volume, there’s really nothing much you can do but to ignore the stock market for the time being. I know I’ve said this numerous times but it’s wise that you take a break. Smart monies are not flowing in and unless you wish to get slaughtered, you should just follow the big boys or the market makers. Sometimes if you do not know what to do, then do nothing. If you’re not ready to trade, then don’t trade. If you couldn’t find any good trade, then don’t trade. If you haven’t done your research and homework, then don’t trade. I would rather let go of a trade than to jump into it if I’m not ready.
If you’re hungry for money during the current hungry ghost festival, then go straight to P44 Permatang Pauh. What? The boring by-election again? Hey! Like it or not the candidates are just warming up. The latest news has it that a component party (MCA?) of the ruling government is giving away easy money in return for intelligence feedback. If you’re Chinese you’ll get RM50, if you’re Indian you’ll get RM150 and if you’re Malay your prospect is RM200. Not sure why the different rate but I suppose that’s the order in terms of the intelligence’s value. So go and peek or spy at your neighborhood and pass the information back to the ruling government in exchange for some pocket money?
Badawi rides LRTPrime Minister stole the news today when he took rides on the commuter KTM and Putra LRT train service to get a feel of the transportation problems faced by the people. Big deal! If only he took the LRT train yesterday when there was problem he might not be able to smile. He should try it during peak hour without body guards and the shoe-polishers around him. Don’t stop there yet – try the bus as well and see if he can afford the smile. Where were the monies saved from the previous fuel hike (the 30 cents per liter hike) which was supposed to be used to improve public transportation? Yeah right, the global oil prices shot up and it vaporized into the thin air. But the joke was that the PM was too scared to go to P44 to help his candidate that he preferred to gain some publicity back in the capital.
And boy, the mother of by-election’s campaign is getting dirtier. Despite his promise not to hit below the belt the deputy PM Najib did just that when he can’t resists the temptation to link Anwar with sodomy during his campaign. Frustrated, Anwar threatens to “open can of worms” against Najib. Anwar was referring to the latest allegation of him ogling at the wife of Larut member of parliament (MP) and Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Hamzah Zainuddin a decade ago. Anwar warned Najib that he would not hesitate to expose “Port Dickson” (scandal) if the latter did not stop the personal attacks against him.
He said “I am being very patient all this time, but I would like to warn them not to push me beyond the limit. If I open my mouth on personal matters, Najib will be kept busy answering them for a very long time. I have refrained from doing so, as this is not a personal battle but about the political future of the country … Remember, I too was in the government and I was privy to a lot of information. Najib knows what I know and he knows what I am talking about. Don’t push me to respond or he will regret it”.
Najib Anwar Dirty HarryIt doesn’t take a genius or rocket scientist to guess which “Port Dickson” scandal that Anwar was referring to. Thanks to Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG, stock) now everyone can find out what was the Port Dickson “dark secret” so go figure. It has something to do with the person caught in bed with a famous singer in a Port Dickson hotel room. But then Anwar might have under-estimate the second most powerful man in Malaysia. If he dared to screwed the Mongolian before passed the second-hand shoe to Abdul Razak Baginda (as alleged by Balasubramaniam) do you simply think the deputy PM would give it a damn about him together with the singer, ZZ, at Port Dickson?
Grow up Anwar! You can’t fight the 50-year-old corrupt organization which you were part of it before. Now the ruling government has started to trap your Perak Exco members with corruption, never mind that the housing project doesn’t exist in the first place, and soon the whole Perak government might just collapse. So what if the ruling government abuse military airplane to hijack Lee Chong Wei and force him to go to the Permatang Pauh for cheap campaign publicity? Unless Chong Wei was willing to kiss his hard-earned RM300,000 and monthly RM3,000 pension reward goodbye, he actually has no choice but to act as a clown when he should be with his parents in the first place. So, let’s see if the P44 voters would give the ruling government another kick on its arse again. But watch out BN (ruling government, National Front) – you do not want to wake up the Dirty “Anwar” Harry because he has a huge “Magnum”.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:08 pm
husain
thats the power of incumbency and how BN can screw all the institutions trying to retain its power.
but then, David has won many times in history against worst odds.
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:20 pm
haiyah takkan only NOW he knows its this bad? when petrol price went up from RM1.60+ to RM1.92 last time, i was working in KL next to the Std Chart HQ (formerly Shahzan Prudential Tower) , i took a LRT from Bkt Jalil to the Hg Tuah and change to the monorail. the trains was so full and crowded that everyone else didnt bother and walked all the way to sg wang, bkt bintang etc..
when i drove in jln sg besi to work in the morning i see some outriders taking some VVIP Perdana and pushing us to the side when we already woke up at dont know what time to get caught in the jam to the rat race. what quality of life is that???
too little too late la mr PM. you are the worst actor. and as bad a PM.
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Some leaders are usually like that , trying to rekindle old lost forgotten feelings when things don’t go their ways anymore. Those caring, I luv u, I am good, I am honest, I am your PM, I am humble, I am amongst u, etc.,etc., feelings. Too little too late. It would be better if he just do fast whatever is good for the rakyat. How about bringing down the petrol price to reflect the current downward trend. Or just wait and pass the baton (but don’t drop it like the Americans) to Najib. I said all these and I am not even DSAI fancee.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:19 pm
This is the sign to all ministers in the cabinet to do jobs hands-on and not rather just giving orders alone.feel how the normal citizens feel.people always adore any leaders or figures that is people-centered.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
LOL. I feel you, babe! :)
How I detest PR stunts like these. The ones that intimate that he’s such a caring, capable and lovable guy.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Oh and I really digg that remark on “commentary-style”. :)
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:57 pm
haha! PM is always sleepy. That is why he dare not sit, else oi oi and people will look at him. Snap his PIC and WOOHA… tml headline. Oh well, at least he tried once, eh, next week ler? Tml? Come on! Jus a day only? You shall go back to the floor and see how we the citizen live…
Not to mention “special perfume” that you have smell in KTM…so, how was it like? Of course it need improvement.. I wonder do you really hear the plight of the people…
We have been in pack of SARDINE for ages. Not to mention after you hike the petrol.. and now you pull it down again..come on. You said there wont be any decrease for the month to come… now is like 3-4 days before ANWAR election, and u pull it down? Wanna sapu whose a$$? haha! come on la… PM, your expiry date is soon.
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 am
Oi! If you don’t like the public transport here go Singapore lah! This is Malaysia. Ee got to have our own identity, if everything is efficient like Singapore and Hong Kong and Taiwan, and Japan and Korea… then Malaysia is no different from others already… LOL.
It is PR exercise for sure… but can they find a better writer in Bernama?
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 am
Oh… forgot to mention that… we are actually much better than Zimbawe,
August 23rd, 2008 at 6:51 pm
The traits of the Malaysians politicians
Link: http://www.kingsmary.blogspot.com/
September 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Root cause is lack of planning and coordination of KL’s transportation infra. Dig in privatisation programme during Mahathir’s tenure to enlighten yourself. Too late to fix it - the poor Malaysian taxpayer and Joe Public will have to live with. So best get used to it. Or support Proton - buy a car.