SUBSIDISE PUBLIC TRANSPORTION IN SABAH

THE FEDERAL government should subsidise public transportation in Sabah, if it really cares for the people of Sabah, said Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

Its Information Chief, Chong Pit Fah said this is especially appropriate and necessary in view of the fact that majority of Sabahans are still poor and can’t even afford a motorcycle, let alone a car.

He contended that if the Federal government can afford to subsidise the road users in Peninsular Malaysia amounting to RM287 million for the four expressways namely the North-South Expressway, Sprint Expressway, Sungai Besi Expressway and Pantai Baru Expressway, it should not have problem subsidizing the 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 revenues generated from oil and gas from Sabah,” he reminded.

He said this while commenting on the recent announcement by Penampang Union Transport Company (PUTC) to cease operations, citing reason that it can’t afford to change its existing fleet of buses that are 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 SAPP Kepayan chief believed the closing down 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 Penampang district.

"I doubt the passengers could claim insurance if an accident occurs beyond Penampang area during the ride,” he said.

He said the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) should go down to the ground and take action against mini bus operators who violated their respective permit.

Chong further noted that many areas within 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 example, residents in Kendara Court 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 could afford to 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 the fact that other existing stage bus operators like Leun Tung Tat Company (LTTC) which is servicing Kota Kinabalu area, as well as Tuaran Union Transport Company (TUTCO) plying between Kota Kinabalu and Tuaran, too are currently struggling to stay afloat mainly due to a high overhead contributed by a comparatively high prices of spare parts, as compared to Peninsular Malaysia.

This was mainly due to the high freight charges contributed by the Cabotage Policy.

He further reminded that many countries in the world are subsidizing their public transportation.