Jakarta, Bangkok ‘backwards’ for allowing motorcycle public transport – M’sian minister
By Asian Correspondent Staff | 15th February 2017

THE Malaysian government says the country will not allow motorcycles to be used as a form of public transport similar to its Southeast Asian neighbours as it is seen as a regressive move.

Deputy Transport Minister Ab Aziz Kaprawi said using motorcycles would be counter-productive to the aim of making Malaysia a modern country.

“We don’t want to go backwards like Jakarta or Bangkok. We want to be an advanced country like in Singapore and London with proper public transport.

“We don’t want to be a substandard city like in Jakarta, Indonesia that relies on motorcycles as a mode of public transport. We don’t want Kuala Lumpur to go backwards, we want to be on par with Singapore and London,” he said, as quoted by Malay Mail Online.

His comments came in light of a motorcycle transport service Dego Ride, which was recently launched in the country as has been the subject of scrutiny by the government.

Although ride-hailing services such as Uber and Grab have been allowed to operate, Ab Aziz said motorcycle public transport posed a danger to passengers.

“We have never allowed for motorcycles to be a taxi service. This is because of safety reasons, there are a lot of factors that can be dangerous,” he said.

Ab Aziz added the government will resume its crack down on Dego if the provider continued operating its motorcycle service.

“Motorcycles are only meant to be used as private vehicles and cannot operate as taxis. We have never given motorcycles permissions to be a taxi service,” he said.

Alternatively, Ab Aziz said Dego could look into providing “mini-taxi” services involving cars under 1,500cc which was more suitable for the country’s needs.

“There is no room for motorcycles but we have already allowed low-powered cars to operate as taxis.

“Instead of a motorcycle taxi service you can embark on a mini taxi service. A small car is okay but motorcycles are dangerous,” Ab Aziz said.

On Monday, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai asserted that motorcycle taxi services were illegal and ordered the services to stop based on safety concerns.

Following the announcement, Dego Ride founder and CEO Nabil Feisal Bamadhaj had called on the company’s 6,000 motorcyclists to cease providing their services until the matter was resolved with the authorities.

“We ordered our riders to stop operations immediately because we do not want them to break the law.

“We also want to cooperate with the authorities so this issue can be resolved well,” he was quoted as saying.

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2017/...sian-minister/