Candidate confident of community bus services for lower income group
by Ivan Loh & Cheryl Hew
FREE bus rides to and from 11 destinations including popular spots in Ipoh has been pledged for the benefit of Pasir Pinji residents.
The promised services, with passengers from the lower income group, especially the elderly in mind, is expected to cost between RM12,000 and RM15,000 a month.
The community bus service is among six programmes pledged by Barisan Nasional’s Pasir Pinji state seat candidate Datuk Thong Fah Chong on Tuesday.
It comes under his master plan themed ‘Help me make Pasir Pinji a community for you’.
Thong said he was confident of getting the necessary approvals from the authorities and funding to get the service running.
“I believe I can get funding from some big companies if I get the mandate from the people.
“I have friends from a lot of places including big companies.
“I have put a lot of thought into this. The bus can take people, especially the poor and old folks, around to run their errands, like buying groceries, going for medical check-up and for shopping ,” he said.
Among the 11 stops include the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) and the Ipoh Parade shopping centre.
A quick look: Thong (left) showing his manifesto to the people of Pasir Pinji to improve their basic necessity.
In an immediate response to the free rides, poultry trader Choong Chun Yee believed it could also benefit businesses in the areas included in the bus route.
“I heard some customers have stopped going to the Pasir Puteh wet market because of difficulties in finding a parking lot there,” he said when told that the market was one of the stops.
Nevertheless, Choong pointed out that the bus service must be regular to see the effects.
Some customers have stopped going to the Pasir Puteh wet market because of ifficulties in finding a parking lot there. — CHOONG CHUN YEE
While housewife Yee Mee Leng, 40, said she might not need the free rides, she nevertheless concurred that it would be of help to the poor.
“Small things like saving a few ringgit on transport can make a big difference when cost of living keeps going up,” she added.
The proposed free rides also earned praises from Looi Kam Fatt who described it as a convenient and people-friendly programme.
The 54-year-old contractor from Taman Shatin said the route catered to almost everybody.
Student Chai Hui Fan, 23, nevertheless pointed out that the free rides must come with comfortable and a proper schedule, or it would not make any difference from the existing bus service.
Labourer M. Devaraj, 33, believed that the service would have a direct impact on the people who benefited from it.
The other five programmes under Thong’s master plan included the setting up of a:
·Job Centre for those seeking employment or need training;
·Community Centre for old folks where activities ranging from recreational, health checks are held, and a place to seek help in dealing with government agencies;
·Youth Centre to provide technical skills training, basic knowledge on starting a business, information on internship with the government and private sectors, and sports and recreational activities;
l Hotline to take care of emergency cases and also steps to improve public amenities and security, and
·Providing financial assistance to the needy.
There are 27,701 voters in the Pasir Pinji state seat, and Thong, 56, is locked in a straight fight with DAP’s Howard Lee Chua How for the seat on May 5.
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