Driving crazy

Driving around Kuala Lumpur is getting more stressful. It is also true in other towns in Malaysia. Congestions grow everyday as a result of rapidly growing car population. This is despite the fact that cost of car ownership and its operating expense is one of the highest in the world. As to why car prices is so high compared to Japan or Korea, the adviser to Proton said it is to discourage more people from using cars . "He also defended the government's high taxes that made cars in Malaysia more expensive than those in Japan and South Korea, saying it was partly to prevent traffic jams."

The total new car registered annually is about 450,000 or say about 35,000 per month. If the average length of the car is about 5 meters and if half of the newly registered car s are on the road at any given time on any day, it will add approximately 50km long of cars monthly. Where will this end?

Just before the recent general election a group of high school students were interviewed by New Straits Times on what they expect their newly elected govt to do for them. One student answered that she would like to see the govt provide better public transportation system. I wonder if our current political leaders are as savvy as this young lady. I personally feel that this is a priority if the overall health of the economy is to be preserved. The first step is to divest Proton because it sucks the economic resources of a small country like Malaysia. Proton car prices is so high not because it want to save Malaysia from congestion and pollution, but to fulfill the dream of its founder. You don't have to be an economist to know that, to remain in business it must be profitable and that is why Proton is having relatively huge cash surplus: the subsidy from the public. Even a world clss partner of Proton, Mitsubishi, cannot achieve the same feat.