Syed Saddiq’s Suggestions For Walkable And Public Transport-Friendly Cities Gather Mixed Reactions From Netizens
While some people agree with the Muar MP’s suggestions, others feel it’s more of an ‘easier said than done’ situation.
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It’s starting to look like Malaysian cities hate pedestrians.
There are cases of walkways with no space and safety, let alone encouragement to walk and a glance through our urban spaces can easily show us this fact.
From the lack of pedestrian pathways to the street level storefronts, we are building our cities only for the enjoyment of people who can afford to drive to where they need to go.
So how can the government cater to us walkers?
By promoting the use of public transport of course!
According to Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, there are three ways we can promote the use of public transportation — improve urban planning, encourage employees to work from home and resolve the last-mile connectivity problem.
“Here in Malaysia, we already have the problem of spending hours on the road. But pedestrian walkways and public transport are not user friendly,” he said in a TikTok video.
To kick start this effort, Syed Saddiq said urban planning needs to be improved to prioritise pedestrians.
Taking inspiration from other countries such as Barcelona and Singapore, he suggested the usage of “super blocks” to ease traffic in residential neighbourhoods.
The concept of superblocks comes from Barcelona, where large blocks have dominated the cityscape for decades and has now attracted the attention of many other cities, as it offers a great deal of potential.
Besides that, he also cited Singapore’s MRT stations that have specific designated pedestrian walkways.
Not in Malaysia. The MRT’s behind your house, but it’s like hiking Mount Kinabalu everyday
Syed Saddiq
Next, he suggested that employers start to encourage their employees to work from home.
This, he said, is because the hours Malaysians spend commuting on the road equals to a loss in productivity.
Malaysians waste an estimated 70 minutes everyday getting stuck in traffic jams. On average, an individual loses about RM300 every month. That is a lot of genuine productivity
Syed Saddiq
Finally, he urged the government to resolve the “last-mile connectivity” problem by incentivising scooter and bike usage.
Despite the suggestions being viewed as positive by many, netizens shared mixed reviews towards the young MP’s suggestions.
While Twitter user @dawnharun67 agreed to most of his suggestions, he also pointed out that “not all jobs are suited for a work from home” plan.
Another Twitter user @HaoYe19738796 pointed out that this was easier said than done due to the current city layout that is in place.
Easier said than done, city planning probably doesn’t work as the city layout is already screwed in the first place. Last mile solution with e-scooters would actually bring more problems in terms of road safety, just look at the number of countries that have banned them.
@HaoYe19738796 on Twitter
However, Twitter user @ansonkia noted that walkways have been neglected by the local council and abused by motorcycles.
What do you think about Syed Saddiq’s suggestion? And what is the biggest thing stopping you from taking public transport?
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