Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen on Jan. 24 presented her country’s idea to set up a trans-ASEAN railway network on the sidelines of the Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

The network, which links seven ASEAN member countries--Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Brunei--is part of Malaysia’s tourism development strategy, which features a combination of railway and waterway routes, the minister said.

Malaysia has developed its own railway tourism and may become a railway tourism centre in Southeast Asia, she added.

The minister called on member countries to support the plan as the tourism industry is opening up in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and the sector would help boost the economy in rural areas in the region, especially in costal ones./.