Government taking steps to reduce air pollution by vehicles — Awang Tengah
KUCHING: The government has been taking various measures to overcome air pollution by motor vehicles, particularly in urban areas over the past few years.
According to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, one of the measures includes promoting the use of natural gas- powered vehicles or hybrid cars.
“Hybrid cars can offer reduced fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, and potentially some reduction in emissions of local pollutants, especially in stop-start motoring,” he said in his speech – read by Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Julaihi Narawi – at the launch of the first BMW i Wallbox charging station in East Malaysia at CityONE Megamall here yesterday.
Awang Tengah, who is also Second Mini ster of Urban Development and Natural Resources, explained that plugin hybrid cars usually combine an internal combustion engine with an electric motor and battery.
“They may be able to operate solely on its engine, battery power, or on a combination of the two with the bat tery providing additional power during acceleration and high load conditions.
“The bat tery can then be recharged by the internal combustion engine or from energy absorbed during braking or from an external electrical supply,” he remarked.
On the BMW i Wallbox charging station introduced by property developer Kenbest Sdn Bhd in partnership with authorised BMW dealer representative Regas Premium Auto, Awang Tengah said this joint venture is in line with the government’s direction to minimise climate change and reduce emissions.
“They have come up with a positive move today ( yesterday) by p rovi d ing c onveni e nt charging stations for free as their way of playing a part in reducing carbon emissions and lowering petrol consumption for a sustainable future. We hope they would continue to introduce other green elements in their project in the future in order to assist the government in its efforts to reduce pollution in our beloved environment,” he said.
Meanwhi le , Julaihi a l so commended Kenbest and Regas Premium Auto for taking the initiative in setting up charging stations at the shopping mall.
“This proves to the consumers that it can be done and that change is coming. The location (of the charging stations) is also very ideal because it is at a public centre. In time to come, I hope they will expand the stations to other centralised locations in Kuching and perhaps expand more stations to other regions in Sarawak,” he said.
CityONE Megamall is the first shopping mall in Malaysia to feature the BMW i Wallbox charging stations accessible to all plug-in hybrid vehicle owners. The public charging facility, comprising two charging stations, is capable of charging electric and plug- in electric vehicles and is located at the mall’s premium drop- off car park.
Also present were Kenbest managing director Stephen Long, marketing director Jonathan Long, Regas Group chief executive officer David Tay and BMW Group Malaysia head of Corporate Communications Sashi Ambi.