Transport in Malaysia started to develop during British colonial rule, and the country's

transport network is now diverse and developed. Malaysia's road network is extensive,
covering 144,403 km, including 1,821 km of expressways. The main highway of the
country extends over 800 km, reaching the Thai border from Singapore. The network of
roads in Peninsular Malaysia is of high quality, whilst the road system in East Malaysia is
not as well developed. The main modes of transport in Peninsular Malaysia
include buses, trains, cars and to an extent, commercial travel on airplanes.
Malaysia has six international airports. The official airline of Malaysia is Malaysia
Airlines, providing international and domestic air service alongside two other carriers.
Most of the major cities are connected by air routes. The railway system is state-run, and
covers a total of 1,849 km. Popular within the cities is Light Rail Transit, which reduces
the traffic load on other systems, and is considered safe, comfortable and reliable.
In the 19th century and early 20th century, most Kuala Lumpur citizens and tin miners
used rickshaws, elephants, sampans and bull- or horse-drawn carriages as basic public
transportation.
From the 1960s to the 1990s, the Mini-Bus Service or Bas Mini was a popular public
transportation in Kuala Lumpur.

Land[edit]
Roads[edit]
Main articles: Malaysian Federal Roads System, Malaysian State Roads
system and Malaysian Expressway System
See also: PLUS Expressway Berhad
Malaysia's road network covers 144,403 kilometres (89,728 mi), of which 116,169
kilometres (72,184 mi) is paved, and 1,821 kilometres (1,132 mi) is expressways.
[1]
The
longest highway of the country, the North-South Expressway, extends over 800
kilometres (497 mi) between the Thai border and Singapore. The road systems in Sabah
and Sarawak are less developed and of lower quality in comparison to that of Peninsular
Malaysia.
[2]
Driving on the left has been compulsory since the introduction of motor
vehicles in Federated Malay States in 1903 during British colonial era.
Railways[edit]
Main articles: Rail transport in Malaysia, Keretapi Tanah Melayu and Sabah State
Railway
The railway system is state-run, and covers a total of 1,849 kilometres (1,149 mi). 1,792
kilometres (1,113 mi) of it is narrow gauge, while 57 kilometres (35 mi) is standard
gauge. 438 kilometres (272 mi) of narrow gauge tracks and all of the standard gauge
tracks are electrified.
[1]
Relatively inexpensive elevated Light Rail Transit systems are
used in some cities, such as Kuala Lumpur.
[3]

Waterways[edit]
Malaysia has 7,200 kilometres (4,474 mi) of waterways,
[1]
most of them rivers. Of this,
3,200 kilometres (1,988 mi) are in Peninsular Malaysia, 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) are in
Sabah, and 2,500 kilometres (1,553 mi) are in Sarawak.
[1]


n a survey by the local magazine The Expat, some 200 foreigners from 30 countries
rated Malaysia the worst among 23 countries in terms of taxi quality, courtesy,
availability and expertise.
The respondents lashed the fleet as a source of national shame and a serious threat
to tourists rude bullies and extortionists.
Salvation is in sight though, as a number of smaller, up-scale operators enter the market
to provide a more expensive but quality taxi service for frustrated visitors and locals.
The uniformed drivers, behind the wheels of smart new multi-purpose vehicles and
sedans, switch on the meter as a matter of course and do not refuse destinations
surprising and delighting commuters in the capital.
The vehicles are in shabby condition, the driver will take you if he likes your face that
is, if he agrees with where you want to go for the price he insists on.
The government has called on taxi firms to lift their standards, but various campaigns
have achieved little, and many blame the lack of enforcement on rampant corruption in
the police and bureaucracy.
It is difficult for the roads and traffic department to take stern action, said a security
officer at one city mall as he watched the touts swoop.
Taxi operators and the company which hold the licences are all linked to some politician
or another, he said. Drivers here are ruthless because they are unchecked by
authorities who are almost non-existent.
John Koldowski, from the Pacific Asia Travel Association, said that less than desirable
taxi drivers have an outsize impact on a nations image.
The first contact a tourist gets with locals is often during airport transits to hotels and it
creates a very, very strong first impression, either be good or bad, he said.
Authorities certainly need to do their jobs and act upon any complaints strongly, quickly
and visibly.
Source: AFP
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 Land and Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan
Sri Syed Hamid Albar today came to the governments defence and urged taxi drivers not to
politicise their grievances.
The government was fully committed to resolving their problems, he said a day after
opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim met taxi drivers here and promised to issue
individual licences to them if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) came to power.
Public transport is in the public interest and we should depoliticise it, Syed Hamid told
reporters at a news conference in the SPAD headquarters this morning.
Yesterday some 500 taxi drivers had gathered in protest over the federal governments
failure to address their problems.
The forum was partly organised by Pakatan Rakyat MPs and was officiated by Anwar.
Political parties should not use this issue for political agains, said Syed Hamid.
Taxi drivers can voice their discontent directly with (SPAD). (The SPAD) are fully committed
in helping them solve their problems, he said.
He said it was the governments responsibility to provide a public transport service that was
more efficient and met the peoples needs.
If the government is not interested (in public transport), why the need to set up a
commission like this when there are already other authorities, like a ministry and the relevant
agencies, he said.
Syed Hamid said the commission was making efforts to contact the associations concerned
so that a meeting could be held to discuss their problems.
He said the commission had met with public transportation operators in the past two weeks
to gather feedback or complaints.
From July 15 to July 27, we have been interacting with taxi drivers, bus drivers and
limousine drivers, he said.
The interaction has been very useful, he said. We realise taxi drivers are faced with many
problems (i.e. operational area, insurance, loading bay, cab fares, illegal taxis) and will
present the collected data before the Cabinet in September.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/government-committed-
to-resolve-taxi-drivers-problems-says-syed-hamid#sthash.ty3UCXML.dpuf