Hike in airport passenger service fees, put travellers first

Dear BK,
Thanks for your post, >> Hike in airport passenger service fees, put travellers first and I couldn't agree with you more that both MAHB and the airlines should not forget that the customers must always come first. I have always maintained that AA has grown too big for its shoes, and in its effort to keep afloat while struggling against predatory competition and fast rising oil prices, it has chosen the route to give its valued customers the short shrift. Furthermore, in my opinion, "Investments" in F1 racing and the QPR football club must surely come at the expense of sorely needed cash for expansion and operations, hence the need for a lot of unilateral price increases that are served on the customer, without any warning. Why does such a great "people mover" get to be so arrogant? Does it think it will have the monopoly in the budget business forever, and disparaging remarks that the LCCT is like a 'horse stable' is very snootish.

I believe, as I expressed in my letter to FreeMaaysia today (below), that a single fare listing would be a more ethical way to treat the customers, and MAHB should also consider taking over its own tax collection, as I also noticed that they seem to have "outsourced" their check in counter services to some third party, as I witnessed it during my last visit to KLIA in September. At that time, I was thinking, MAHB was taking the easy way out, but maybe by outsourcing the tax collections, it can solve many issues with the airlines, and some tantrum throwing CEOs

TNB is not doing its work?

I would like to highlight the lazy approach by TNB in reading the monthly meters of households in Petaling Jaya. We are retirees staying in Section 11 Petaling Jaya, a modest neighborhood, and we pride ourselves in paying our bills promptly. Every month, before the 10th of each month, my wife and our neighbours would wait for the TNB meter reader to appear, and would happily assist him to read the meters of our houses. This is to lighten his onerous workload, and would also ensure that we pay on on actual consumption, and not based on sometimes high 'estimates'.

This month, November, we were surprised that the TNB meter reader did not appear, though the Syabas reader had gone his rounds on the 8th. My wife decided to call TNB today, 16 November, and was efficiently passed on to the Bills department. After the initial courtesies, imagine to her surprise, we were told that we have a bill of RM180+ for November, already recorded in the computer system!

So, apparently, the billing for my house has been completed, but I have not received the bill, not even the estimated one. Since I pay my bills online, and have been doing this for more than 10 years, do I now have to phone and beg for a statement, for my online payment? My further questions to TNB are:

• Is TNB cutting cost by reducing the effort of meter readers to manually read our bills?
• Is it the responsibility of household residents to ask for bills, and what happens if we do not receive any bills at all?
• Is TNB trying to raise "estimated revenue" by asking the meter readers not to go on their rounds monthly?
• Worse, are the meter readers shirking their jobs, and are just staying home and submitting ALL estimated bills for the houses in my area, Jalan 11/10 P Jaya? 

I sincerely hope TNB would continue its effort to read our meters on a monthly basis, and not inconvenience us in such a manner. There are defaulters who must be punished, but please do not push us, the conscientious consumers to delay our payments too.

Continue with monthly billing

Appeal to use aerobridges for budget airlines...

I wish to refer to the letter in TheStar, "Group wants aerobridges at KLIA2" appearing on October 24, and also to my comments on the letter, click here>>>'Budget' does not mean 'heartless' in which I said that a Budget airline should also operate with a soul, in addition to making huge amounts of profits from the villagers.

I have on this occasion, received further input from my network of concerned readers, a picture of how dangerous it is, for a disabled passenger to enter and alight from an airplane, "manually". {please see attached} Besides apparently having to pay for a wheelchair on Air Asia, it would seem to me that a sick or disabled passenger would also put his life to further grave danger, if someone trips up on the way up or down! We have not even begun to talk about damages that the airline has to pay for any fatal consequences of an accident occurring during the 'transfer'.

Once again, I would like to appeal to the Government and the authorities to consider the Group's request for KLIA2 to install aerobridges for all its flights. I fail to see why international standards of embarking and
alighting from the present normal and wide body aircrafts should be sacrificed for the sake of profitability of a few. KLIA2 is built to serve the International community, so let's abide by international standards of performance and dignity.

As I have said before, and I repeat it here, does Malaysia want to be known as a nation without a soul??

Wake-up call for KTM Komuter

The letter about the mess that Komuter is making itself in Wake-up call for KTM Komuter is but the continuation of of the public's long standing complaints about an essential service that has apparently gone unheeded.

As anyone can see, the Komuter link between Klang and KL Sentral is the most important "people mover" link that the capital of KL has, and if it's operated efficiently, it can become the most important part of the solution to our traffic congestion on the Federal Highway route. Instead of acknowledging this fact, the authorities have treated the route with reluctance bordering on indifference, forcing the commuters to revert to using their cars for commuting, adding to the gridlock.

It is fortunate that the LRT is beginning to fulfill its promise as a mass transit provider, and we hope the MRT will too, But we also hope the authorities will not ignore the fact that the Komuter can also play an essential role in the mass transportation sector, and given the burgeoning population in, and the urbanization of, the Klang Valley, it will go a long way to help alleviate the congestion experienced by commuters in the area.


Komuter is important people mover

Get to root cause of road Bus accidents

I refer to the letter Get to root cause of road accidents which was written in response to the Star's lead report, "Reckless Again" in which you raised the question of uncaring and reckless drivers, who by their misdeeds have killed innocents and caused untold damages to lives and property, again and again.

I wish to state here that nothing that the public says will move to Government to do what has to be done to stop the 'murderers on the expressways', and I speak as an utterly disillusioned man.

Since 2009, and even before that, I have been harping on the issues of the heartless bus drivers in 'Rogue bus drivers and Indifferent authorities'-- and 'August 18--D Day for Rogue Bus drivers?' and I had commented even then that the only way to reduce the carnage on the roads is to LIMIT the speed the buses can be driven, through the use of Speed DE-limiters. It is a fact that speed kills, and less speed will save lives. In October 2009, perhaps in response to my clamour for positive action, the Transport Minister announced.. "{click on this link to see report}All express bus operators may soon be required to install speed limiters in their vehicles in an effort to reduce road accidents and fatalities. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said they might also be required to install the Global Positioning System (GPS) to allow them to monitor their driver’s on-the-road habits..."

Can the public know why there is no further effort on the part of the authorities to implement something that can be effective in curbing the excesses of the bus drivers? Is it because the selfish bus owners are crying out at the cost of implementation, and more imprtantly for the bus companies, slower journeys will make them less money? Is the Government listening to the pleas of the people, or the immoral cries of businessmen ?

Anyone reading the international news will know that countries that do not control the speed and road worthiness of their buses have the worse accident and fatality rates. {Think of India, China, Peru, Bolivia, Philippines, etc.}

Malacca monorail suspended 48 hours

Reading this news, Malacca monorail suspended 48 hours and knowing how problematic China's bullet and other trains have been experiencing serious reliability problems resulting in fatal consequences, I think the Melaka Government should view this with serious concern. And the question must be asked, even though it's in hindsight.. "Why was the KL Monorail company not involved in the Melaka project, as there must be cost and other advantages getting a local company with a successful track record?"
It is even more embarrassing as the Melaka monorail will be mainly used by tourists, and in the event that any future incident have fatal consequences, we will never be able to forgive ourselves. I also observe in the picture, in one of the emergency measures, in the event of the monorail stopping in the middle of nowhere, a rope ladder will be deployed to rescue the tourists trapped in the coaches! Can you imagine elderly foreign tourists being asked to climb down a great height using this oscillating rope ladder in an emergency, and this scene is flashed all over the globe?

Heaven Forbid!!!!!

Governments have changed, and nothing has changed.

This letter in The Star Development of PKNS field unnecessary gave me a huge dose of deja vu. Governments have changed, and nothing has changed. It is true that politics is about being in power for business expediency. When we listen fervently to the impassioned messages hollered out during re-election campaigns, we harboured hopes that a change in the "political scenery" will bring about great benefits to the people, to the environment, and to our lives. We clamor through the ballot box that our voices be heard, and that our future be protected from the consequences of an ill governed nation.

But has anything changed? All political parties, once entrenched, will cast the eyes askance and look for juicy projects that will churn in the millions that they crave for, having fought tooth and nail for political power. Illegal massage shops and "budget" hotels flourish, and now, the green lungs of a quiet residential area is viewed as the next pot of Gold beneath the rainbow. Is the Government going to sacrifice the 'soul' of Kelana Jaya for the sake of filling the pockets of some politicians and councillors?

Even God will shed tears, for the folly of men :(

Has anything really changed?