To beat the fuel problem, free people from having to drive everywhere

 Malaysia needs a national mobility commission that coordinates transport, land use, housing and urban planning under one coherent vision instead of treating them as isolated issues.

From Boo Jia Cher

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seems increasingly worried about Malaysia’s fuel subsidy bill, and that concern is completely understandable. The broader global energy situation remains deeply unpredictable.

The problem is not simply fuel prices, but that Malaysia has built an entire society around excessive fuel consumption.

For decades, artificially cheap fuel distorted the market and encouraged sprawling suburbs far away from jobs and amenities. It encouraged highways over public transport, giant parking lots over walkable streets, and car ownership as a necessity rather than a choice. Entire towns and neighbourhoods were designed with the assumption that everyone would drive everywhere for everything.

Many Malaysians now see cheap fuel not as a subsidy, but as a kind of national entitlement.

In case Putrajaya has forgotten: Malaysians have legs. There is a non-fuel solution to the fuel problem. If the government wants Malaysians to consume less fuel, then it must make it easier for people to live without driving everywhere all the time.

Right now, mobility policy in Malaysia is fragmented across different ministries, state governments, local councils, transport agencies and highway authorities. One agency expands highways, while another tries to increase public transport ridership. One authority approves sprawling developments, another talks about sustainability while local councils neglect pavements, cycle paths and pedestrian crossings.

The result is a country where driving becomes the only practical option, even for short trips.

Malaysia needs a national mobility commission that coordinates transport, land use, housing and urban planning under one coherent vision instead of treating them as isolated issues.

National standards are needed for pavements, pedestrian crossings, cycling lanes, bus shelters, pedestrian bridges, shaded walkways and transit-oriented development. Mobility policy must be aligned with land use policy so that future growth does not continue producing endless fuel-dependent sprawl.

Outside major cities, towns should feature walkable centres where residents do not need to drive long distances for basic daily errands.

In the Klang Valley especially, the excuses are becoming harder to justify. Highway projects continue to receive priority, even though they simply encourage more driving and more fuel consumption over time. This cycle cannot continue indefinitely.

There must be a unified effort to improve. Many of these improvements are not massive megaprojects requiring decades to complete. Cycling lanes, bus lanes, pedestrian crossings and the like can be introduced quickly at far less cost than maintaining enormous fuel subsidies.

The real obstacle is political and ideological. Malaysia remains trapped in an outdated model of development where too many policymakers still measure progress by the number of highways built, rather than by how easily and affordably people can move around without depending on private vehicles.

To solve the fuel subsidy crisis sustainably, Malaysia must first reduce its addiction to cars. It means finally building a country where alternatives genuinely exist. It would also produce a healthier, safer, greener, and more resilient Malaysia with cleaner air, less traffic congestion and more liveable communities. - FMT

Boo Jia Cher is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.