KUALA PERLIS • Thanks to an enterprising young man,  Nur Afiq Nasharudin, Malaysians need not have to go as far as Thailand to experience a tuk-tuk or choley ride as they can now enjoy the service at the Kampung Warna Warni Seberang Ramai Royal Project in Kuala Perlis.

After raising RM4,000, Nur Afiq placed a special order for the auto rickshaw from Thailand to generate additional income for his family and help other youngsters in his village earn some money.

“I got the idea to operate this transport service after seeing elderly people and expectant mothers had to walk quite a distance to enjoy the beauty the village has to offer.

“It took some time for me to figure out how to bring in the vehicle legally and Alhamdulillah I finally received my choley last month,” he told Bernama here today.

Nur Afiq or affectionately known as ‘Mat Apit’ among the villagers here, said he did not expect that the transport service would receive such an encouraging response from foreign and local tourists when business started for the Chinese New Year holidays on Jan 22.

“If given the opportunity to get a loan, I plan to have another unit to cope with the increase especially, on public holidays and weekends,” said Nur Afiq who is self-employed.

He said during peak periods he would get his friends in the village to take turns bringing around the visitors.

“During the weekends. I usually manage to get between seven and nine trips from morning to late afternoon and RM35 is charged per trip for a ride around seven villages namely Kampung Tengah, Kampung Tanjung, Kampung Seberang Alur, Kampung Seberang Jaya, Kampung Pulau Ketam, Kampung Tandiap and Kampung Baru Tandiap which takes about 45 minutes to an hour to complete,” he said.

He said apart from taking selfies and enjoying the sightseeing tour, tourists would stop to buy dodol, putu kacang, halwa maskat and Kuala Perlis laksa to bring home.

“I feel honoured to be able to play this role as some sort of an ambassador promoting this village,” he said.

Meanwhile, a tourist from Melaka, Mohd Anwar Leman, 53  said he had taken tuk-tuk rides when he visited Thailand and Indonesia but the experience of the Seberang Ramai Village Transformation Royal Project and seeing the beautiful kampung houses with vibrant colours was unique.

“The choley ride was exciting because, in addition to sightseeing, the driver will tell us about the villages and the transformation project which was the brainchild of the Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail which began in 2020.

“Personally, I am impressed by the efforts of the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) which had succeeded in transforming a fishing village into a tourist attraction which you can’t find anywhere else,” he said.

The development of the Kampung Warna Warni Seberang Ramai  Royal Project was one of MAIPs’ initiatives to improve the economy of the residents in the area and leverage the state’s tourism assets. – Bernama