PETALING JAYA: Long-haul bus company TransMalaya Ekspres has denied claims that Muslim couples are required to produce a marriage certificate when purchasing bus tickets at its counters.
Its ticket servicing department officer, Rina Suhara Ramli, said the company had never imposed such a requirement on its customers as it believed in respecting their privacy.
“We have never asked for a marriage certificate from passengers who want to buy bus tickets. We only segregate passengers based on gender.
“Sometimes, we will not stop a male passenger from sitting with a female because they know each other. For customers travelling alone, we will ask them what they prefer.
“We do not impose strict rules but, at the same time, we try our best to respect the privacy of our passengers,” she told FMT today.
Rina said the company had introduced gender segregation in its buses to prevent untoward incidents, such as sexual harassment.
“There are many sexual harassment cases nowadays and passengers are uncomfortable about that. So if they feel uncomfortable sitting next to the opposite sex, we will give them the choice to change seats.
“Our approach has been well received by many customers and there hasn’t been any complaints yet.”
Yesterday, lawyer activist Siti Kasim had taken TransMalaya Ekspres to task, saying it was up to her to sit with who she liked and she would not be boarding its buses again.
Rina said TransMalaya Ekspres had taken Siti’s remarks into account, adding that her comments would be used to improve the quality of its services.
The bus company has offices in Jerantut, Temerloh and Kuantan.