The recently revived Johor Bahru Car-Free Morning, held every second Saturday of the month in the city centre, has received a timely boost, with long-time platform supporter OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (OCBC Bank) coming in as the main sponsor beginning this Saturday, 13th January 2024.
Since 2015, OCBC Bank has been a prominent supporter of the popular Kuala Lumpur Car-Free Morning.
As the first tangible demonstration of its support for the all-new JB Car Free Morning, OCBC Bank is sponsoring 100 bicycles that the public can use for free at each session.
Multigreen Events Sdn Bhd, which has been organising KL Car-Free Morning since its inception, will work with Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru (MBJB) to implement OCBC Bank’s sponsorship programme.
According to Johor Bahru Mayor Dato’ Haji Mohd Noorazam bin Dato’ Haji Osman, the participation of a corporate entity such as OCBC Bank, which has extensive experience sponsoring car-free mornings, bodes well for the future of JB Car-Free Morning.
“We are excited about what the future holds for JB Car-Free Morning, underlined by OCBC Bank’s commitment to its long-term success through, among others, the provision of the 100 bicycles for the community to use on a complimentary basis. With this, we look forward to having even more people from all walks of life join us for our events from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every second Saturday of the month. As with KL Car-Free Morning, JB Car Free Morning seeks to protect the environment, promote healthy living, encourage decarbonisation, and drive tourism into the city of Johor Bahru. We welcome everybody to this event, including our neighbours from across the Causeway in Singapore, to join us every second Saturday of the month,” he said.
JB Car-Free Morning features a 5-kilometre route in which participants will be able to enjoy exercising along traffic-free closed roads by cycling, running, skateboarding, or simply walking.
Dato’ Haji Mohd Noorazam added that JB Car-Free Morning is a great platform for people to come together in large numbers to enjoy the scenic sights the city has to offer while soaking in the atmosphere with family and friends.
JB Car Free Morning is also a platform for government agencies, NGOs, and members of the private sector to come together to collaborate.
JB Car-Free Morning begins at the MBJB Building at Jalan Dato’ Onn and goes through Jalan Dato Onn, Jalan Ibrahim, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Jalan Gereja, Jalan Trus, Jalan Abdullah Ibrahim, Jalan Dato Dalam, Jalan Khalid Abdullah and Jalan Ayer Molek before concluding where it starts.
Participants can look forward to passing iconic landmarks such as the Johor Bahru Sky Screen, Zero Mile Icon, Sungai Segget, Johor Bahru Ancient Chinese Temple, Gurdwara Sahib Johor Bahru, Sultan Ibrahim Building, Persada Johor International Convention Centre, Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim, and several other notable structures.
Commenting on the decision to expand its car-free morning sponsorship to Johor Bahru, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad CEO Tan Chor Sen said OCBC Bank is encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by the Johor Bahru Mayor and MBJB for moving the event to the next level and for warmly welcoming the Bank to partner with them.
“We are looking forward to enabling more sustainability-linked efforts through JB Car-Free Morning, which, moving forward, will strive to create even more health and environment-related programmes for everyone to participate in. We are hoping to add recycling and go-green initiatives, which all participants can contribute to as well.
“I would like to put on record our thanks to the honourable mayor of Johor Bahru for the trust placed in us and look forward to a fruitful and meaningful collaboration. We look forward to seeing people from all walks of life at the starting line at 7 a.m. on Saturday, 13th January 2024,” he said.
Multigreen Events CEO Mohd Nezzam Abd Malek said the company is looking forward to continuing its partnership with OCBC Bank, this time in Johor Bahru, to ensure MBJB’s ideals are achieved.
“We will seek to provide the appropriate activation programmes for the community to participate in at each platform every month. We will create exciting activities for the community to enjoy while staying true and close to the goals of promoting healthy living, advancing the sustainability agenda, especially decarbonisation, and driving tourism,” he said.
For further information on JB Car-Free Morning, the public may visit www.jb.carfreemorning.my.
