.: ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery :.

I just remember I hadn't posted about this as I was at the building management office paying for my car-parking and the fella asked if I was on NTV7 Venus a while ago..

So yes I was! On May 30th I was on an edition about Public Transport and Taxis.

The regular host is Aishah Sinclair but she wasn't around so it was hosted by Sariah who is also the Producer of the show.

You can watch it below:

Part 1

Read more

This is a much discussed issue, especially with the recent tragedy at Slim River and the deaths of 3 young bright citizens (20, 21 and 23) of Malaysia.

I often wonder if having a system like we do in the UK would make much difference, in UK it's know as the MOT or Ministry of Transport test.

It's a test that EVERY vehicle has to go through every year after it's 3 years old or more, if you don't pass the test you can't get your roadtax - if you can't get your roadtax you can't renew your insurance. Everything is linked together.

If there's any failures on your test you have 10 days to retest, if not your vehicle is marked as unfit for the road, it's a fairly cheap test at £50.35 for a regular car but I think it really helps.

Australia has a similar scheme and so does the US I believe.

Some may say the developing economy of Malaysia can't support such a scheme as many people can't afford to keep their cars or buses in safe working conditions.

But is it really worth risking people's lives for? Surely these deathtrap cars shouldn't be on the road.

Buses and public service vehicles should be strictly monitored for safety along with the drivers, 13 outstanding summons? For someone that is essentially in charge of 30 peoples lives?

Any cars without roadtax that are parked on public property (note you don't even have to be DRIVING the car) can be towed away and crushed, yes not impounded but destroyed.

This is not the first incident with a bus in Malaysia, and it surely won't be the last until things start to change. Drivers must be paid and trained properly, they must be responsible and not overworked.

The buses and vehicles used to transport people around the country must be well maintained.

I have to say personally I feel quite safe on the LRT, but the buses in Malaysia in general are horrible. The only ones I feel safe on are those luxury buses which are very well maintained and have well trained and rested drivers (Plusliner, Aerobus etc).

But those aren't exactly affordable for the average student and are privately run, so not really considered as public transport.

If you feel that this is an important issue there's an online petition you can sign here which is going to be presented to the Ministry of Transport.

Bus Crash No More

You can also read more about the issues here:

http://buscrashnomore.blogspot.com

Sadlly it's most likely the bright young students of Malaysia that are going to be endangered as they take the cheap buses from city to city during festive seasons and study breaks.

This is something which can and must be addressed.

..to be another corporate drone driving a boring 3 Series BMW?

Even worse, why take a 9 year loan and buy a Kelisa? With the interest you can pretty much buy another car.

Yah I know cars are a necessity here, not a luxury, I know that, the public transport is so abysmal here I had to get a car ASAP or I was just stuck in the appartment festering, oh for good public transport.

I always wonder why people buy cars and break their balls to pay them off just so they can look better in front of their peers or something.

9 years of composite interest, the current rate is 4-4.5%, so let's say 4% for 9 years, that's 36%.

36% of interest, if it's a Kelisa, that's about 36,946, let's say 40,000 on the road.

36% of 40,000 = 14,400

That's huge, you can buy a decent second hand kancil for 15k.

You are being raped.

Then a BMW, that's a RM280,000 car for a decent 3-series.

36% of that? You don't want to know...a massive RM100,800, 100k you are paying to some shitty bank for an overpriced boring drone car to fit in with your peers.

100,000 RINGITT

Why do people do it, this whole Asian Face thing baffles me sometimes.

So they look good in front of their peers? So they can impress the girls? They break their balls paying RM3000 a month out of their RM5000 salaries so they can drive a BMW.

Then they drive the goddamn beemer at 80km/h in the fast lane because they can't afford the petrol to go any faster..

All of this adds up to Road Rage incident in KL.

Back to the point anyway, why spend so much on a car, why, what's the point? Why burden yourself, even with my 5 year loan I feel pain, that's why I took a lump sum and reduced it by a year..

20% of the value of my car, just for lending me the money to buy it, that's cut-throat man.

The necessity of cars and the poor public service allows the banks to become cut-throat loan sharks.

And the government with it's over inflated prices for overseas cars, it all adds up to a poor consumer at the end of the day, plus we still have to pay Road Tax for roads with holes in and tolls...The tolls which shouldn't even be there any more.