Minister: KL kapchai ban requires proper research

After an announcement by Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor that small, underbone motorcycles, or kapchais, were to be banned from entering Kuala Lumpur to reduce pollution, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has come out to refute the statement.

Speaking at a press conference in Menara Kuala Lumpur, Wan Junaidi said the greatest emitter of pollution is not from motorcycles. “The small ones don’t emit that much. It’s the big ones that do. Why are we stopping the small ones? We should be stopping the big ones,” he said in a The Star report.

A meeting between ministries will be held to further discuss this issue. “We need to know who the biggest emitters are. Are they lorries, buses, cars or motorcycles? For motorcycles, I don’t know because to me, it should be the big lorries that shouldn’t be allowed in,” said Wan Junaidi.

Saying that a complete ban is unfeasible, Wan Junaidi held the city of London up as an example, where residents were encouraged to utilise public transport by making it difficult to drive cars in the city. While agreeing in principle that cutting carbon emissions by reducing dependance on private transport is the way forward, proper research is required before implementing such a move.

The Transport ministry has also come out against Tengku Adnan’s suggestion to ban kapchais, with Deputy Transport minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi saying most kapchai riders are low-income earners, and such a ban would only be feasible if there are convenient alternate transport options.