KUALA LUMPUR: Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) must reconsider and cancel its decision to impose a 90 sen fare on foreigners using the free PJ bus service, which some quarters said was an unfair move and discriminatory.
Human rights group North-South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira said it was "shooting itself in the foot" in defending its decision despite calls from the public to drop the fare on the ride which started as a free bus service for city folk and school children since May 2014.
He said MBPJ is going down a slippery slope by creating double standards for the basic right to mobility.
"Mobility is a right, it's important for everyone to have fair access to mobility. It's crucial as it provides people access to their livelihood. People depend on it to go to work, go to school and access healthcare."
He said it was an exploitative measure towards foreigners if they were made to pay the fee due to cost issues in running the free bus service.
"It does not look good for them if these foreigners are to subsidise the bus service. It definitely looks like they (MBPJ) are trying to exploit them. It is a very bad move.
"These foreigners are also contributing both directly and indirectly towards the city council," Adrian said.
He said the decision to impose the fare on foreigners will also send a message that Petaling Jaya, and Selangor as a whole, is not welcoming them.
"It's bad enough that Malaysia also has earned a bad reputation of having forced labour, now with imposing a fee on foreigners using the city bus, it shows that Selangor does not welcome them.
"These foreigners would gladly go to other states or even countries that are more welcoming to foreigners. Imagine they all leave PJ or Selangor tomorrow," he told the New Straits Times.
MBPJ said it will impose a 90-sen nominal fee to foreigners using its free Petaling Jaya City Bus service starting this month.
Mayor Mohamad Azhan Md Amir said this was in accordance with the decision by the Selangor state government recently.
He said there was a need to impose a nominal fee on foreigners as the free bus service was meant to help locals.
The Selangor state government originally proposed the fee regulation in 2021, with the exco in charge of local government, Ng Sze Han, claiming it was to fund state and local government expenditures.
The decision was met with criticism which the Selangor government leaders have defended, saying the free commuter service is meant for Malaysians, just as schools and public hospitals cater for citizens.