opinion Singapore's Changi Airport, about 40 minutes flight time from the RM10 billion ultra-modern Kuala Lumpur International Airport at Sepang to the north, is a lesson that Malaysian airport managers should learn from.

There is no need to look at other airports outside the region if we want to learn more about managing an airport and justifying the cost involved in building it.

Occasionally I fly through Changi from KLIA back to Kuching and each time the brief stop is a new revelation. Firstly, if you're on transit you've to step off the aircraft, according to Singapore airport authority regulations.

It is not a bad idea even though the incoming flight from KL is only a short time, for you need to stretch your legs, apart from other things.

Step off the aircraft and get into the passenger terminal building through the aero-bridge you'll at once notice the Changi's stark difference when compared to the ambience at KLIA. It is so bright and lively and full of shops that all seem to beckon you to spend.

And spend I did, changing some ringgit at the money-changer with every cent of it going on a camera and some books, newspapers and chocolates.

I recall taking a plane back from Kota Kinabalu not very long ago and making a transit stop at Labuan's brand-new airport, only a few minutes from the town centre. All transit passengers are to remain on board, we were told, so there was no chance even to stretch one's legs inside the terminal building, let alone to pick up some duty-free chocolates at the departure hall.

"What a pity for the retailers who have to pay such high rentals and not be able to sell to transit passengers," I told myself.

Labuan does not have many flights, so transit passengers either from Kuching, Miri or Kota Kinabalu and even Kuala Lumpur can help airport retailers if they are allowed to browse through some of the shops at Labuan's airport and buy something home.

Imagination, ideas

But Singapore's Changi is ever so business-minded. That's not all. Singaporeans may be an object of scorn or hate for always saying "Everything is so cheap" once they come across the Causeway into Johor Bahru . Wait until they shop at KLIA and compare the goods with the ones back home at Changi.

During a recent stop-over at Changi, I found the silver-coloured cameras selling at mostly below S$200 - meaning shops dealing in cameras and related accessories attract a lot of the departing and transit passengers at Changi. The collection of books, magazines, cards and other reading materials there is also not as pricey as one would think.

Changi is Singapore's shopping showcase, and not everything is guaranteed to be expensive. This, and other measures, I am told, are the little things that make Singapore tick.

A creativity of ideas, some imagination and airport authorities working together to ensure that Changi, and for that matter, Singapore, remains an attractive transit and stop-over point for tourists and visitors between the East and West.

One is told prices at KLIA shops have to be high because the rentals are high. But our flagship airport has so much space that can still be used and with quality goods and competitive prices (and for goodness sake don't just talk about perfumes only), even locals, when they meet or send off friends and relatives can be attracted to stop 'n shop at KLIA.

Besides, with the long distance from the city to KLIA, so much time is spent getting there and back so why not spend some time shopping while there? What about a supermarket or departmental store at KLIA? It will surely attract a lot more people to go there if only to greet or send people off.

Top league

Having said all that, it cannot be denied that KLIA is a far, far better airport than Subang and it is much talked-about in the region and around the world.

If Singapore's Changi, to borrow football terms, is Asia's Manchester United for the moment, surely we can aim at making KLIA Asia's Liverpool at the very least and eventually climb to the top of the champions' league ahead of the competitor one day.

As deputy minister of International Trade and Industry Kerk Choo Ting said recently in his capacity as chairman of the Malaysian National Shippers Council: "We already have world-class facilities and infrastructure (referring to seaports and airports).

"All we need is to to improve on Management & Organisation (M&0) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to get into the top league."

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini's Kuching correspondent.