A planned high-speed rail (HSR) connecting two major Southeast Asian commercial hubs, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, is a feather in the cap for regional economic integration but profitability and political manoeuvring may overshadow the ambitious project.

Officials last week signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), the precursor to a legally-binding bilateral agreement at year-end, and an international tender will be called in August to appoint a joint development partner. So far, Japan has expressed interest in bidding, pointing to the spotless safety record and famed reliability of its Shinkasen bullet train, local media reported.

The HSR, due to start operations in 2026, is a big win for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has been pushing for deeper regional integration.

The 10-member bloc launched the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) initiative last year in a bid to unite Southeast Asia into a single market and production base, with a focus on free trade in goods and services, free flow of skilled labour and liberalized investment. But so far, progress has been tepid due to domestic political concerns.

Now, a recent report from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has warned that the HSR could struggle to provide the hoped-for boost to ASEAN cohesion. HSR projects typically struggle for years before turning a profit, research fellow Wu Shang-su and associate professor Alan Chong noted in the report. For example, it took more than two decades for the Eurotunnel linking Britain and France to turn a profit, according to the NTU report.

Singapore-Malaysia ink landmark High Speed Rail MOU

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The Straits Times

“With operating deficits common among most HSR operators around the world, the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur HSR may not be an exception,” the report said. “Despite the possibility of bilateral commuting services theoretically becoming profitable, construction and maintenance costs would surely rely on overall income.”

Moreover, with commercial aviation as the railway’s primary competitor, redirecting large numbers of aerial passengers to the HSR may not be feasible.

There are about 45 daily flights between the two capitals, with average capacity of each flight at about 200 people, which meant 9,000 daily passengers could be carried in both directions at maximum, the report said. But one HSR train could seat a maximum of 1,000 passengers, according to news reports, so it would take 10 to 15 uninterrupted train services per day, assuming the HSR performs at peak capacity every time, to match the number of passengers flights could carry, the report continued.

Ticket pricing would also be a key issue, particularly if the HSR was meant to compete with cars, buses and conventional trains.

“If the HSR charges too much, passenger traffic would not significantly contribute to its finances, the NTU report said. “If the HSR tickets are priced too low for recouping its sunk costs, increased passenger volume may not adequately compensate but contribute to overall financial deterioration.”

Navigating through government bureaucracy could also derail progress.

The report explained that HSR projects tended to be lucrative when supported by urban development such as airports, restaurants, cinemas and shopping outlets, near the new rail stations. But in Malaysia, undertaking such land development projects would require backing from both federal and state governments, which can be a complicated process, the report noted.

“Therefore, building HSR lines could require political bargains that may result in detours, or even impasse, in striking an agreement amongst various political forces.”

THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) has stepped up enforcement at the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints against evasion of payment of Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fees, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) fees and toll charges.

In a statement yesterday, LTA estimated that, between March and May, revenue loss was about 8 per cent of its total tolls and fees revenue.

Besides installing more signs leading to and within the checkpoints, LTA said it had also increased the number of officers deployed for enforcement duty at both checkpoints by close to 20 per cent, to almost 100.

The number will go up if deemed necessary.

From Aug 1, a composition sum of $50 for motorists who evade the tolls and fees will be introduced, while repeat offenders will have to pay $100.

This is up from the $10 administrative fee payable today.

Motorists who do not pay the composition sum and who are then charged for tolls and fees evasion are liable on conviction to a fine of up to $1,000, or up to three months’ imprisonment for the first offence.

LTA said it was also studying two other approaches to tackle the issue.

First, the possibility of amending the Road Traffic Act to prohibit the entry and exit of foreign vehicles with unpaid tolls, fees, taxes, penalties or composition sums.

Secondly, strengthening controls over the collection of fees and tolls for vehicles entering and departing Singapore.

It is also working with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on the feasibility of having ICA’s drop-arm barriers lifted only when the motorist has paid all tolls and fees.

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SEOW Suat Hong may have difficulty eating, walking long distances or getting around due to a cancerous tumour in her stomach which causes her constant pain.

But talk to the 58-year-old about the intricate mermaid-themed fondant cake which she received over the weekend and she lights up with a bright smile.

“I never thought that my son would surprise me like this and I never thought that you could make a cake with mermaids on it,” she said.

It was a cake adorned with 11 fondant figurines of Madam Seow and members of her family in mermaid and merman designs.

A “mermaid queen” representing Madam Seow sits regally atop the two-tiered cake in a large pink shell. She was touched to know that the cake was made for free by baker Priscillia Wong Pei En, a former colleague of the eldest of her four children, Lionel Peh.

Madam Seow has two other sons and one daughter, as well as three grandchildren.

The elaborate creation, which Ms Wong would usually charge up to $700 for, was hardly a piece of cake. Ms Wong spent a week making it, carefully sculpting each figurine and taking three-hour naps at times just to finish the cake.

Madam Seow’s story strikes a cord with Ms Wong, whose own father died 10 years ago at age 45 due to colon cancer.

“I just want to give her some strength and positive energy, because you never know what that can do, it might work miracles,” Ms Wong added.

Mr Peh, 33, an air steward, had come up with the idea for the cake as his mother likes mermaids.

He approached his former colleague, Ms Wong, who now runs a baking business specialising in customised cakes, Ximicake.

Mr Peh said: “I knew it was quite a short time for a custom-made 3D fondant cake but Pei En told me not to worry and to leave it up to her.”

Ms Wong hand-painted each figurine’s features and moulded each figurine’s hair, which took about two days. This was in spite of two other orders she had on her hands then.

When the cake was presented to Madam Seow at a family gathering at Aloha Loyang resort over the weekend, friends and relatives were impressed.

“All of my relatives were saying it’s the most beautiful cake they have ever seen,” said Mr Peh.

Madam Seow liked the cake so much that she initially stopped her family members from cutting and eating the cake, a chocolate fudge with chocolate ganache.

She later relented but kept all the figurines, which are edible but currently resting in her refrigerator.

The surprise delighted Madam Seow whose cancer is not responding to any treatment.

She is now taking medical morphine to regulate her pain.

“Ever since I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, I’ve been very unhappy.

“I worry every day about what will happen to my children and my husband and I can’t bear to leave them,” the housewife said.

But seeing the cake had cheered her up immeasurably.

“It was the happiest moment of my life,” she said.

janlee@sph.com.sg

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EVERY month last year, more than two young people aged 10 to 19 killed themselves.

The year’s total of 27 was twice as many as the year before and the highest in 15 years.

The alarming rate stands in contrast to the overall reported suicide rate here, which is at its lowest since 2012.

Young people who reach out to a suicide prevention hotline run by Samaritans Of Singapore (SOS) cite mental health issues, academic pressure and relationship problems at home and in school as their greatest source of stress.

The numbers of suicide have risen even as the age group is shrinking, smaller by 7.1 per cent since 2012.

Experts say this underscores the increasing urgency of identifying and helping children at risk.

Overall, there were 409 reported suicides in 2015, compared with 415 the year before.

The teenage years can be a difficult time when young people struggle with issues of identity and belonging, said SOS.

At greater risk are those who have predisposing vulnerabilities, such as mental health issues and external stressors from the home and study environments.

What is more, growing up in the digital age could make them susceptible to negative online influences that might steer them into self-harm or develop suicidal tendencies, said Petrine Lim, principal social worker at Fei Yue Community Services.

Teenagers who lack healthy outlets to express their pain, such as a supportive familyand social network, tend to be at risk of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, say counsellors.

In other findings, while men made up two-thirds of overall reported suicides, fewer took their lives last year than the year before, with the obverse for women.

In 2015, 271 men and 138 women committed suicide, compared with 292 men and 123 women in 2014.

tianjie@sph.com.sg

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