Tong Kooi Ong blogs First world infrastructure with third world mentality

by **Cals** Wed 09 Apr 2014, 01:54

Tong Kooi Ong blogs First world infrastructure with third world mentality

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Tong Kooi Ong of theedgemalaysia.com

Tuesday, 08 April 2014 16:47

ANYONE coming back to Kuala Lumpur via the KLIA faces this parking chaos, if you are being picked up by car. There are actually five lanes outside the arrival gates. The inner two are reserved for airport taxis. Yes, two lanes. Take a closer look next time.

The other three lanes are reduced to a single lane with cars double parking. Look around and you see traffic cops standing nearby. Take out your camera and start clicking. The cops will soon come around, blow their whistle and ask parked cars with drivers inside to move on.

If my memory serves me right, this “parking on driveway” chaos happened since 1998 when this airport was first opened. I remembered Kadir Jasin wrote about this “first world infrastructure with third world mentality” observation.

15 years has passed and not much has changed.

Does this also happen elsewhere? Yes, it does in some places. But it is equally true to say that it does not happen in many places too. Even in places like Taipei, Yangon, Port Moresby and Ho Chi Minh, drivers are better disciplined.

If this observation of Malaysian behaviour is endemic and symbiotic, perhaps we need to work harder on the mindset of the people, the software, rather than continue investing on hardware?

Perhaps there is much gain in productivity that can be achieved out of our existing assets? It is one way to reduce the Government’s budget deficit.

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Tong Kooi Ong is executive chairman of The Edge Media Group. Feedback is welcomed at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]