NAP policy excludes the everyday man

I refer to the letter New NAP policy terribly unjust.

In isolation, the policy to inspect vehicles over 15 years of age is sensible. But as always, the policy-makers have failed to consider the welfare of its citizens. If you break down these types of policies to its core, basically, a National Transportation Policy is needed.

Beyond all the emotional values of owning a car, these policies should be about how to transport people from point A to point B in the most efficient and safest way possible. In Malaysia, personal transportation via cars and bikes are the norm.

Ask any person, especially those in cities, on what proportion of their monthly income goes towards transportation. I guess that most Malaysians would drive cars. I would also hazard a guess that, in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysians pay the most for their transportation as a proportion of their income, if you delve into the total cost of getting from A to B.

Economically and environmentally, isn't this a waste? Who is the National Automotive Policy meant to protect? I doubt that it's you and me, the common rakyat. If you read the policy in detail, its meant to protect Proton and the car distributors.

In the long term, protecting both is unfair and unsustainable. There's no logic in protecting a car- maker who can't survive in export markets and car distributors who rely on APs (approve permits) for their income.

The NAP forces the public to continue to rely on personal vehicles for their transportation and narrows down their options.

What about those that can't drive because of their age, income and even capability? I've been hit by an eighty-year-old in an E-Class Mercedes Benz. He told me that his driver didn't want to work overtime and the taxi service, being so unreliable, had refused to send him to his destination.

Or perhaps consider the motorcyclist who has to throw his body in between the deadly mix of cars and buses to get from point A to B because we didn't give him a viable public transportation option. Mind you, with this number of motorcycles on the road, there isn't even a dedicated lane on most of our roads to keep them safe.

Why is it once poorer countries like South Korea now have supremely efficient transportation systems? It's possible to now travel, by subway, from one end of Seoul to the other in less than one hour.

For a city with a population of 23 million-odd people, that's remarkable. Yet, car ownership is not inaccessible like it is in Malaysia. People can drive if they want, from point A to point B but the government has given them the option of taking public transportation.

Our National Automotive Policy? Possibly not for you and me.