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They are finally here. Malaysia’s electric trains will begin arriving and departing from Johor Bahru tomorrow morning. This comes 14 years after the government first said it would begin work to upgrade the line from Kuala Lumpur to the south.
Already, tickets for Chinese New Year in February are sold out.
A good number of these are likely to be Singaporean. Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) reports that out of 409 passengers booked in for the first train departing JB Sentral at 8.40am tomorrow, 115 are non-Malaysians, or about three out of every 10.
Our correspondent Hazlin Hassan was on board the preview ride of the electric train service (ETS). The train departed from Kuala Lumpur at 6am this morning, heading down to Johor where a launching ceremony was to be held.
Having watched the sun rise through the window, she found that in just two hours, the train was already at Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, the main intersection of the KTM network between its east and western lines.
“It’s supposed to be a 4.5-hour journey but we were going so fast that they had to slow down otherwise we would arrive too early. In fact, since they had to offload some trash, they also decided to take a longer stop at Kluang to order the legendary railway coffee,” she told me.
“As someone who has to drive my kids everywhere, this is so much less stressful than making the journey on the North-South Expressway and not knowing when we are going to arrive.”
The ETS may not be the High-Speed Rail that we once dreamt about. But at that journey time, coupled with the cross-border Rapid Transit System Link due to be completed by end-2026, could well give airlines a run for their money for the busy Singapore-KL route.
On the political front, two ethnic Chinese parties in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s governing coalition have begun moves ahead of the next general election. The Democratic Action Party (DAP), the largest party in government, sounded alarm bells last week over fears that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition is losing its stranglehold on the Chinese vote after a disastrous outing at the Nov 29 Sabah polls.
Just a week later, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) resolved to cut ties with the DAP by the next national polls due in early 2028. The MCA also called on the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, of which it is a member, not to continue its electoral pact with PH at the elections.
Most observers believe there is still a long way to go before BN and the MCA can regain the trust of the Chinese, who make up a quarter of the electorate. But the MCA will surely try to capitalise on a wobbly DAP, as every percentage point counts in Malaysia’s tightly-contested electoral politics.
After all, there are just so many factors that could move the political needle here. Check out our coverage from the past week below for a sampling of such issues. If there’s a story you want to know more about, send me your suggestions or feedback here.
Long-awaited ETS linking KL and JB makes its debut in preview run
Cross-border taxis more attractive with flexible drop-offs but concerns remain
The changes could still fall short of the door-to-door services that consumers increasingly want.
Tesla, Proton lead Malaysia’s monthly high EV registrations
There were 5,417 EV registrations in November as drivers rush to beat the 2026 tax hike.
Outcry for local election after departure of KL’s ‘first world-class mayor’
Despite a RM2.8 billion budget, residents in the country’s biggest city have no say in how it is spent.
Cabinet orders overhaul of dress code at police stations, govt agencies after outcry
It follows an incident where two women were stopped from entering a police station due to their attire.
Malaysian Mandopop fans vent anger at China concert scalpers
Chinese tourists flock to ‘Maldives of Malaysia’ but businesses feel sidelined
Sabah operators complain that packages offered by Chinese agencies are crowding them out.
Sabah faces political uncertainty after death of divisive leader Bung Moktar
Should his seats be contested, it will be a bellwether for BN’s fortunes in the state.