By: MICHAEL TEH
KOTA KINABALU: The federal government should subsidise public transportation in Sabah, if it really cares for the people of the state, said Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).
Its Information Chief Chong Pit Fah said this is in view of the fact that a majority of Sabahans are still poor and cannot even afford a motorcycle, let alone a car.
He contended that if the federal government can afford to subsidise road users in Peninsular Malaysia amounting to RM287 million for the four expressways namely the North-South Expressway, Sprint Ex-pressway, Sungai Besi Expressway and Pantai Baru Expressway, it should not have a problem subsidising public transportation in Sabah.
"The Barisan Nasional (BN) led federal government must not deny nor forget the fact that a bulk of the money which it used to subsidise the toll companies were contributed by the revenue generated from oil and gas in Sabah," he reminded.
He said this while commenting on the recent announcement by Penampang Union, Transport Company (PUTC) to cease operation, citing that it could no longer afford to replace its existing fleet of buses that were more than 10 years old with new ones, as required by the relevant authorities. Besides PUTC, the Labuk Road Transport Company in Sandakan too is facing the same fate.
Chong who is also the SAPP Kepayan chief believed the end of PUTC would inevitably have a far-reaching impact on the general masses, especially those who have no choice but to depend on public transportation.
The only remaining option now is the mini buses which are unfortunately not without an issue. This is because the permit of many of these mini buses only allows them to operate within the Penampang district.
"l doubt the passengers can claim insurance if an accident occurs beyond the Penampang area during the ride,” he said.
He urged the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) to go down to the ground and take action against mini bus operators who violated their permits.
Chong further noted that many areas within the Penampang District especially those situated a little bit further from Donggongon including some new housing estates are not being served by public transportation.
He cited for example, residents in Kendara Court who have to walk for some distance to get public transportation, while many residential estates surrounding the Lido township too are currently not covered by mini bus services.
He thus urged the government to subsidise diesel and spare parts for the public transport operators like the stage bus companies, so that they can continue to serve the public, especially those from the low-income bracket.
He added that such a move would definitely benefit the people rather than the bus companies. since the bus fares would be kept affordable.
He also reminded that other existing stage bus operators like Luen Tung Tat Company (LTTC) which services the Kota Kinabalu area, as well as the Tuaran Union Transport Company (TUTCO) plying between Kota Kinabalu and Tuaran, are also currently struggling to stay afloat mainly due to high overheads con: tributed by high prices of spare parts when compared to Peninsular Malaysia.
This was mainly due to the high freight charges as a result of the Cabotage Policy, he said.
He further reminded that many countries in the world are subsidising their public transportation.
New Sabah Times
Monday, March 19, 2012
Page 6
Perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam di Sabah akan jadi lebih baik seandainya diberi subsidi. Namun cadangan ini perlu diteliti terlebih dahulu. Jika pro melebihi kontra, tidak mustahil ia dilaksanakan kerana kerajaan prihatin permasalahan rakyat.
ReplyDeleteFurther consideration is needed before the subsidies is implemented, make sure the subsidies can really help the bus operators to improve their services and reduce their operational burdens.
DeleteApa2 cadangan haruslah dikaji dan diteliti dengan detail supaya dapat diketahui apa cara penyelesaian yang terbaik boleh dilakukan.
DeleteGOod suggestion. I hope the federal government would consider SAPP suggestion to subsidise public transport.
ReplyDeleteNajib said 15,455 houses and 458km of roads were being built in rural Sabah this year and 68,000 village homes would get piped water. These projects are the result of close ties between the Sabah and federal governments, he added.
ReplyDeletePublic transportation is important in Sabah as many locals still relied on public transportation to travel around on daily basis, if the public transportation is improved, I'm sure more people are willing to take public transportation, this will help reduce the traffic congestion issues as well.
ReplyDeleteSudah tentu kerajaan akan mempertimbagkan hal tu.
ReplyDeletesistem pengangkutan di Sabah harus dipertingkatkan lagi demi kemudahan semua pihak.
ReplyDeleteKita tengok sudah memadai dengan pengangkutan awam yang ada sekarang ini.
ReplyDeleteMengenai cadangan SAPP ini rasanya kerajaan akan mengkajinya sendiri. Perlu atau tidak subsidi diberikan dalam pengangkutan.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan tidak akan duduk diam untuk hak penduduk Sabah. Maka pasti kerajaan akan mencari langkah yang terbaik untuk keselesaan para pengguna.
ReplyDeleteKita sudah sedia maklum yang mana peruntukkan telah diberikan kepada Sabah dan Sarawak sebanyak RM100juta menaiktaraf jalan. Ini satu usaha yang baik dilakukan oleh kerajaan untuk memastikan rakyat Sabah dapat menikamti kemudahan yang baik.
ReplyDeleteFederal Gov should look and listen with what SAPP demand for.
ReplyDeletemahal sangat ka kos pengangkutan di negeri ini jika dibandingkan dengan kos pengangkutan di semenanjung yang mana negeri ini tidak ada satupun tol seperti yang ada di semenanjung??
ReplyDeletetidak mustahil sekiranya kerajaan bersetuju dengan cadangan SAPP, bertubi2 serangan dari pihak pembangkang kononnya subsidi itu hanya untuk mengkayakan kroni..
ReplyDeletedaripada subsidi diberikan kepada pengangkutan awam, lebih baik tambah subsidi petrol dan diesel..
ReplyDeleteberkenaan dengan pengangkutan awam di kawasan pedalaman, amat mustahil mana2 pengusaha pengangkutan awam untuk masuk ke kampung2 mancari penumpang.. jika setakat 2 atau 3 orang sahaja penumpang, tidak sampai sebulan, syarikat itu akan bankrap.. lebih baik sediakan satu kampung satu bas.. senang runding dari segi kos dan masa..
ReplyDelete