Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : KUALA LUMPUR RAILWAY STATION
Tarikh/Date : 19/09/93
Tajuk/Title : LAUNCHING OF THE EASTERN &
ORIENTAL EXPRESS
It is a pleasure for me to officiate the launching of the
Eastern & Oriental Express. I see this venture as the
quintessence of a number of aspects of life that are most
important to us all.
2. Firstly, across the world, trains have always been an
efficient and economic means of transport. Although in some
countries they have been allowed to decay, in Malaysia, the
railway system has been maintained and is making a very
strong come back and contribution to national development.
We believe that it will play an increasingly important role
in our industrialisation and growth towards the Year 2020.
We are encouraging KTM both to modernise and even to build
new lines that will help open up the country. We have
invested hundreds of millions of ringgit recently in
upgrading our railways. The Eastern & Oriental Express is of
course a very special and beautiful train. It complements
our modernisation programme and represents all the most
excellent qualities of rail transport at its very best and
most romantic.
3. This train has been described as a luxury hotel
on wheels and fits in well with up-market tourism. In
Malaysia, we take our tourism very seriously but we take our
country even more seriously. We have been blessed with a
beautiful country with mountains, lakes and pristine islands
populated by friendly people living together in harmony. We
intend to conserve these natural assets while promoting
tourism. We believe that these natural assets should be
enjoyed by as many people as possible. It is therefore our
intention to preserve our natural assets at all cost.
4. During Visit Malaysia Year 1990 we doubled the number
of people visiting the country. Next year has been
designated the Visit Malaysia Year 1994. It is hoped that
the Eastern & Oriental Express will help to double once
again the number of people visiting Malaysia.
5. Apart from this, a long list of events and festivals
have been planned. Some of these are by the Federal
Government and some by the 13 state governments. But there
are also the ethnic and religious celebrations which will
depict the different ways of life and customs of the many
ethnic groups which make up the Malaysian people. Truly a
visit to this country during the Visit Malaysia Year 1994
will be very interesting and worthwhile. Tourists using the
Eastern & Oriental Express will be able to enjoy more than
just a luxurious train journey. They will be able to see
the festivities during Visit Malaysia Year '94.
6. This train represents the collaborative efforts between
many people. Its route stretches from Singapore, through
Malaysia, and into Thailand; symbolising a bold and
imaginative statement of Asean cooperation, transcending not
only political but also cultural, economic and ideological
boundaries and bringing together the peoples of three South
East Asian nations. With this project it is hoped that more
tourists will be encouraged to travel to South East Asia,
thus complementing and possibly increasing passenger air
traffic into our respective countries. This is the kind of
value-added project that the Government welcomes
whole-heartedly. It is totally in keeping with the policy
of letting the private sector play the major role in the
economy, while the Government concentrates on administration
and policy making.
7. I would like also to congratulate the foreign partners
for their confidence in our policies and their appreciation
of our potential as an international economic and cultural
showcase. To the local partners their innovative and
pioneering spirit is truly commendable.
8. I trust this train will not only enrich your perception
of what the real heart of South East Asia is like but that
you will also enrich the lives of those with whom you come
in contact in your travels.
9. I now have much pleasure in launching the inaugural run
of the Eastern & Oriental Express.
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