A royal locomotive ride for Johor Sultan (update#1)

TRANSIT took note of this story, referring to the Sultan of Johor’s Kembara Mahkota “meet the people journey” in Johor later in June. The story was also published in the NST.

A royal locomotive ride for Johor Sultan (The Star)

JOHOR BARU: For his meet-the-rakyat journey this year, the Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar will be using a new mode of transport — the train.

The Kembara Mahkota, which began ten years ago, had previously seen Sultan Ibrahim traversing selected districts in the state on a motorcycle, a boat and a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

In training practice yesterday, the sultan managed to steer the the Blue Tiger 26108 Tanjung Kupang locomotive from the Johor Baru train station at 11.55am to Kulaijaya train station about 30km away within an hour with 100 passengers on board.

“Everything went smoothly for the trial run. I have been waiting and anxious to get my licence soon,” he told reporters after his training session here yesterday.

“I will make sure that my timing is right for the train to be on time at each station, as I do not want the rakyat to wait,” he added.

This year’s Kembara Mahkota, from June 26-28, will see the Sultan visit several districts in the state, among which are Kluang, Segamat and Kulaijaya.

Sultan Ibrahim is expected to steer the train for the entire 391.3km journey, starting from Johor Baru Central train station to Gemas train station and back.

TRANSIT Says:

You wouldn’t know it, but many of the rulers in Malaysia do see themselves as having a strong duty to connect with their subjects and provide them with better facilities, infrastructure, and economy.

We recall that some years ago, the Sultan of Selangor mentioned that he would like to see a shuttle bus service in Petaling Jaya, and lo-and-behold, it appeared.

While there is a lot more to do to improve things, we do appreciate that the rulers will help to bring attention to the need for mobility and improving the lives of the rakyat.