NO MORE FREE BUS RIDES FOR FOREIGNERS
90-sen fee to pay for maintenance of buses, says PJ mayor
THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) will impose a 90-sen nominal fee on foreigners using its free Petaling Jaya City Bus service starting this month, a move which has been described by a human rights group as “exploitative”.
Mayor Mohamad Azhan Md Amir said that in accordance with the decision made by the Selangor government recently, there was a need to impose a nominal fee on foreigners as the free bus service was for locals.
“The bus service was introduced to benefit locals but lately, more foreigners are using it.
“Annually we spend RM6 million to operate the PJ City Bus service. The 90 sen fee from foreigners using the service will contribute to the maintenance of the buses,” Azhan said.
He added that he was aware of criticisms of the decision but felt that it needed to proceed as the funds to operate the buses come from the council’s annual budget.
Azhan said that currently, MBPJ has 22 buses in operation with an average annual ridership of four million.
The Selangor government originally proposed the fee regulation in 2021, with the executive councillor in charge of local government, Ng Sze Han, claiming it was to fund state and local government expenditure.
The decision was met with criticism. The state government leaders defended it, saying the free commuter service was meant for Malaysians, similar to schools and public hospitals catering for citizens.
Rights group North-South Initiative asked MBPJ not to “shoot itself in the foot”.
Executive director Adrian Pereira said MBPJ was setting double standards.
“Mobility is a right, it's important for everyone to have fair access to mobility. It is crucial as it provides people access to their livelihood.
“People depend on it to go to work, schools and to access healthcare.”
Pereira added that it was an exploitative measure aimed at foreigners.
“It does not look good for them if foreigners are to subsidise the bus service. It definitely looks like they are trying to exploit them. It is a very bad move.
“Foreigners contribute both directly and indirectly to the local council” he said. “They indirectly pay land tax through rentals as well as service tax for the goods they purchase.”
He added that the decision to impose the bus fee on them will send a message that Petaling Jaya, and Selangor as a whole, was not welcoming of foreign workers.