MALAYSIA: Senior citizens have to get moving, so call us a trishaw

. PENANG, Malaysia / The Star / January 26, 2009 Opinion I AM a retired government servant, aged 73 and receiving a monthly pension of RM942.57. My wife is does not work. I suffer from diabetes, hypertension and piles. As such I am not very mobile and am not able to move around on public transports like buses or LRT. Taxi, which is my only option to go to the hospital or community clinic, is expensive and my wife has to accompany me whenever I visit the hospital or clinic. Very often, the taxis do not stop when I signal them to. If at all they did, they give lame excuses and refuse to take us. Such circumstances make me wonder why the Government does not introduce the three-wheeler auto-trishaws or tuk-tuk which can be used by senior ctizens like me to take us to our local destinations straight from our house. It would save us the trouble of having to wait at bus stops for long periods. The cost of travelling on auto-rickshaws will certainly be cheaper and would not result in traffic jams. They would be a boon for people like us. I sincerely hope that the Government will give consideration to this request. HUMBLE PENSIONER, Petaling Jaya. Copyright © 1995-2009 Star Publications (M) Bhd