
KLIA's aerotrain in full flight now
SEPANG: After a more than two-year wait, travellers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport can breathe a sigh of relief as the aerotrain service resumed yesterday.
Capable of ferrying a total of 270 passengers in one ride, the aerotrain shortens travel time between the main terminal and satellite building to about three minutes.
Fishmonger Chia Kim Yee, 26, said the aerotrain was much more comfortable compared to using the shuttle bus service.
'The bus service was quite complicated. Other countries also have systems similar to the aerotrain.
'Now that it is back in service, it is much easier to move around the airport,' said Chia, who just arrived from Taiwan.
Project engineer Ng Yong Loon, 25, also lauded the return of the aerotrain service.
'Taking the bus wasn't the best experience, and it could get rather hot. It is my first time taking the aerotrain and we hope this service can continue, as it makes it extremely convenient,' said Ng, who had travelled back from Vietnam.
Oil and gas surveyor Amirudin Bahari, 40, said using the train was much more efficient.
'Now, we don't have to walk that much. It is only a three-minute ride and as a frequent traveller, it makes the journey more comfortable.
'Hopefully, the train can continue serving its purpose well, with no breakdowns,' he added.
An Indian national, who wanted to be known only as Priya, said the aerotrain's return added a sense of efficiency to her travel.
'We are always pressed for time and the aerotrain makes a big difference. It is also much more organised,' said the business traveller.
Private sector worker Nazihah Abdullah, 35, said she was excited to see the aerotrain back in service after such a long hiatus.
'We were quite eager to ride it. The train is much better compared to the bus, where there is a longer waiting time.
'The current train also seems more spacious and has a display, compared to the previous aerotrain operations,' said Nazihah.
The aerotrain, which came under public scrutiny for its frequent breakdowns, had its service suspended in March 2023.
During the aerotrain's hiatus, shuttle bus services were deployed as a stop-gap measure.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also among those who rode the train yesterday, during a walkabout at KLIA Terminal 1.
'Good and very fast, maybe faster than before,' he said briefly when met while making his way to the Bunga Raya complex.
Anwar arrived at about 1pm with an entourage including Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Anwar is set to make his inaugural official visit to Italy as Prime Minister.
Rome is the first stop of the Prime Minister's week of working visits, which also includes Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Anwar lays out vision for more equitable world
IN Rio de Janeiro this week, the city welcomed leaders for the BRICS Summit. A fresh voice entered the conversation: Malaysia, a newly engaged BRICS partner country and current chair of Asean. Moments after touching down, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was ushered on stage alongside President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to open the BRICS Business Forum. The prime minister delivered an address that was personal and relatable and uplifting. At the core of his speech was a simple truth: the developing world can no longer be seen as peripheral players in a system built elsewhere. We are not relics of post-colonial history. We are rising powers in our own right, armed with moral capital, technological capacity and economic ambition. Anwar did not merely speak for Malaysia and Asean. He articulated for the Global South its pursuit of a more equitable, responsive and plural future. There was particular praise for President Lula, whose principled leadership has steered BRICS beyond rhetoric into something more consequential: a coalition with real potential to influence global structures. Today's BRICS, Anwar noted, is not just a forum of statesmen. It includes the voices of the private sector, youth, women and civil society. That gives it a level of resilience, inclusivity and legitimacy that Bretton Woods institutions do not have, weighed down by their hierarchical and opaque structures. Anwar's message marked clarity of purpose: Malaysia, and the Global South too, want to engage all, defer to none, and recast the architecture of global cooperation frameworks from the prism of developing nations. As chair of Asean, Malaysia brings a regional mandate grounded in multilateralism, economic openness and collective agency. Anwar addressed Asean's drive to strengthen intra-regional trade and investment, deepen financial integration and promote local currencies for cross-border transactions, towards a more stable, diversified and less dollar-dependent system. Building on this vision, the BRICS private sector could push innovative frameworks in finance, via green sukuk, climate-aligned instruments and sustainability-linked vehicles, as levers for systemic transformation. In his interventions at the Leaders' Summit, Anwar made a strong case for closer BRICS-Asean ties. Both reflect the ambitions of the Global South, not to disrupt global order, but to rebalance it. As economic bifurcation deepens and supply chains collapse, this dialogue helps to rebuild connectivity, fortify inter-regional trade and investment, and enhance collaboration in the sectors that matter. Anwar called for nothing less than reform of the major postwar institutions, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation, in order to reflect the 21st-century world. The existing multilateral architecture is fraying, not for lack of ideals, but in terms of responsiveness and the failure to evolve. On the notion that Malaysia's partnership with BRICS is demonstrative of a geo-economic deflection from the West, particularly the United States, Anwar made it unequivocally clear that the US remains Malaysia's top source of foreign direct investment. In terms of trade, the United States continues to be Malaysia's third-largest partner, a position it has held since 2015. Thus, any suggestion of a shift, strategic or otherwise, is groundless. That said, BRICS represents not a counterweight, but a counterproposal deeply rooted in inclusion, equity and shared sovereignty. It embodies a vision of balanced multilateralism that is networked, adaptive and genuinely plural. Make no mistake: what we saw in Rio was not a symbolic appearance. It was Malaysia stepping into a new role as bridge-builder, regional convenor and vocal proponent of a more equitable global economy. That momentum continues in October, when Malaysia hosts the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur that Lula has pledged to attend — a testament to the growing stature of this partnership. The path forward is clear: not a retreat from the multilateral order, but its reform. Not a rejection of global engagement, but its redistribution. Not a rivalry of blocs, but a realignment of priorities.


Malaysia Sun
7 hours ago
- Malaysia Sun
Malaysia calls U.S. 25 pct tariff disruptive to business, supply chains
Xinhua 08 Jul 2025, 13:15 GMT+10 KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The imposition of a tariff rate of 25 percent on Malaysian exports to the United States is potentially disruptive to business operations, supply chains, and investment flows that benefit both countries, Malaysia's Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry said on Tuesday. Malaysia is however still committed to negotiations to reach a fair and sustainable outcome for both parties, it said in a statement following a letter by U.S. President Donald Trump addressed to Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. "Malaysia views unilateral measures as potentially disruptive to business operations, supply chains, and investment flows that benefit both countries," it said. "Malaysia strongly believes that together, we can find mutually acceptable solutions that safeguard the interests of both our countries and our peoples, while ensuring that bilateral trade and investment remain a positive force for sustainable economic development," it added. The tariff rate is scheduled to be imposed from Aug. 1, 2025.


The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
X says Indian government ordered it to block Reuters News accounts in India
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Elon Musk and the X logo are seen in this illustration taken January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's government last week directly ordered X to block more than 2,000 accounts, including two belonging to Reuters News, the social media platform said on Tuesday in a sharp public attack on "ongoing press censorship" in India. Two Reuters News accounts - @Reuters and @ReutersWorld - were suspended for India users late on Saturday, and displayed a message saying they had been "withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand". The Reuters accounts were restored on Sunday night but the status of the others was unclear. X's statement contradicts comments by a spokesperson for India's Press Information Bureau at the weekend who said no government agency had required the withholding of Reuters handles. "On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, under Section 69A of the IT Act. Non-compliance risked criminal liability," X said in its post. "We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available," it added. Reuters could not determine what specific content the blocking demand referred to and why its removal was sought. Section 69A of India's IT law allows the government to block public access to content "in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state". Orders issued under the section are confidential in nature. In a statement, India's IT ministry said the government had "not issued any fresh blocking order" on July 3. It did not say if an order was issued before that date. The government did not intend to block any prominent international news channel, including Reuters, and had written to X over the weekend to unblock the news agency's accounts, the ministry said. "X has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs," it added. The social media platform in its statement said the Indian government had asked it to restore access to @Reuters and @ReutersWorld after a "public outcry." A Reuters spokesperson at the weekend said the news agency was working with X to get its accounts reinstated in India as soon as possible. On Tuesday, she said the agency had no further comment. The main Reuters account has more than 25 million followers globally, while Reuters World has 718,000. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials. The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a "censorship portal", as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil and Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Jon Boyle)