While I congratulate the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) Berhad and the Railwaymen’s Union of Malaysia (RUM) for reducing their losses to RM55 million with hope of further reductions after the rate hike, I must voice out that this notion of wanting to become ‘halal certified’ is a worrying trend.

Now, whilst the management has assured that this is meant only for the food on the train, I am concerned that this will lead to a slippery slope that can only get as ridiculous as the trolley separation at some malls.

First off, the service of the KTM is for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion and even gender. I had and still have reservations to the need of a women only coach to this day because it disallows passengers from using it even if the carriage is empty.

As a service with income that is based on the number of passengers, it makes no economical sense to have these in operation off peak hours other than to be a glorified waste of space.

And now, with this introduction of a ‘halal-certified’ train service, the KTM may face even more ridiculous conservative opinions and questions. How long will it be till a handicapped Malaysian with a guide dog be told they can no longer take the train?

Even worse, would someone bringing pork from a day of grocery shopping suddenly cause the train to be offline for a period of time while some conservative nuthead asks for the carriage to be ritually cleansed?

Yes, these ideas sound ridiculous, but you do know that it will happen and come up eventually. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if suddenly some religious authority decided to raid the train asking for couples to come out with their marriage certificates or face a detainment even if it doesn’t meet the conditions of khalwat.

And furthermore, is this really what is important for a rail service?

With trains being delayed, a dire need in improving station maintenance, a runaway contractor for the unfinished ticketing system that lies abandoned in all stations all the way up to the need to improve service staff to an international standard, is this really where the company's priorities should lie?

I backed an increase in the fare for the Komuter, but this is not what the income should be spent on. I would have thought the increased fare would be better spent on the staff and increasing customer service, not such a trivial matter as halal trains.

If the KTM is truly concerned simply on food supply, it should not require the need for the entire service to be ‘halal certified’. A simple reassurance on the Electric Train Service (ETS) that the food is all halal is enough.

The fact that the rail service was pompous enough to announce it as such makes me question just where their priorities lie. Malaysians, and I’m sure their own staff, need a better train and station service which is well-maintained, well-serviced, with helpful staff earning fair wages.

Anything else is window-dressing

Anything other than this is pure window-dressing and needs to be stripped off. In fact, there should be strict enforcement on the fact that there should be no consuming of food or drink while on the train as well as priority seating for those who need it.

The KTM management and its staff need to consider that with increased fares just announced, Malaysians are expecting better service regardless of its sharia compliance. They want lesser disruptions and travel times, and couldn't care less whether or not it is halal or non halal.

While the KTM fares are still extremely low compared to international standards by distance and zones other than France’s Metro - where one ticket costing you €1.80 for any trip wherever you wish to go on the service - there are great expectations towards improved services.

This announcement of wanting a halal certification does nothing towards that goal. If the KTM insists on wanting to continue on this wasted path of shoving halal down every passenger’s throats, they should do so clearly by just noting their food, not have a press announcement about it to the point where passengers can already picture the Jakim halal logo emblazoned on the side of the train.

Furthermore, if this was due to some random suggestion by some insistent conservative faction of Malaysians, they should opt for their own car if they want the privilege of having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) about sacredly cleansed transport service instead of hounding other Malaysians to kowtow to their needs.

And they should avoid using Uber, too, since it is considered haram by the government.

We have enough to worry about to the point that disillusioning the Malaysian people with the need for a morally correct train service is just too stupid to add on to that burden.

And again, congratulations KTM and your union, but stick to ideas to make rail a choice for everyone and not get too focused on godly goals to fit just one facet of Malaysia in its spectrum of diverse people.