Speaking to FMT, they gave as examples the suggestion by the Malaysian Public Transport Users Association (4PAM) for a more seamless transport system and the call by the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) for easy access to small business loans.
Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin, an emeritus professor, said 4PAM’s suggestion was too idealistic.
“It is good if you can achieve it,” he said, “but I don’t think it is practical at this juncture since the government is limping in trying to set up the necessary infrastructure.
“It takes a lot of funds, planning and expertise for you to link all the elements of such a system.
“You can’t achieve seamless transportation for now. Besides infrastructure, you must also have efficiency in managing and implementing these suggestions.
“The suggestion is a Utopian ideal which we should strive for, but we cannot realise it anytime soon.
“We are moving towards that, but we’re probably only about 40 per cent there for now.”
Ghouse said seamless transportation had not been achieved even in more developed countries.
“They don’t have this perfect kind of situation where you link everything. It probably happens only in Toronto, Canada, where you have subways linked to one another.”
4PAM’s other suggestions included zero taxation on imported cars used as taxis, the setting up of a Public Transport Tribunal to ensure the protection of public transport users’ rights and the alienation of city lanes for buses.
4PAM’s proposals were published at malaysiandigest.com last Friday.
Klang MP Charles Santiago commented on CAP’s recommendation regarding small business loans, saying banks were unlikely to welcome the suggestion.
However, he said, banks could “tie up” the loans but this might not be what CAP was envisioning.
“Let’s say you are asking for a RM100,000 loan,” he said. “What the bank can do is to give you a quarter or a half of that first. It can then review whether you’re using the money effectively or whether or not you’ve been able to use that money to generate an income with your business before you get the full loan.”
He said one of the reasons loans were difficult to get was that the amounts asked for were usually too big.
CAP’s recommendation was contained in a memorandum sent to the government in May.
Budget 2017 is expected to be tabled in Parliament this Friday.