The JB Car-Free Morning event kicking off with a warm-up session.
More than 1,300 participants thronged the Johor Baru (JB) Car-Free Morning event on a recent Saturday.
This was the first time OCBC Bank (M) Bhd came in as main sponsor of the recently-revived monthly activity.
OCBC Bank announced its sponsorship of 100 bicycles that the public could use for free during the car-free event held every second Saturday of the month from 7am to 9am.
Present were Johor Baru mayor Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman, OCBC Bank Bhd chief executive officer Tan Chor Sen and OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd chief executive officer Syed Abdull Aziz Syed Kechik.
The three of them, together with about 100 OCBC Bank staff, led the pack through the heart of Johor Baru city centre on bicycles sponsored by the bank.
Mohd Noorazam (front row, in black) with Tan (on his right) and Syed Abdull Aziz (on his left) leading the group through the heart of the city centre.
Mohd Noorazam said the entry of a corporate entity like OCBC Bank, which has vast experience sponsoring car-free mornings, augured 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 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 joining us for our events.
“Just like the KL Car-Free Morning, JB Car-Free Morning seeks to protect the environment, promote healthy living, encourage decarbonisation and drive tourism in the city of Johor Baru,” said Mohd Noorazam.
“We welcome everybody to this event, including our neighbours from across the Causeway in Singapore to join us,” he added.
The JB Car-Free Morning event covers a 5km stretch in which participants can enjoy exercising along traffic-free streets by cycling, running, skateboarding or simply walking.
The route begins at the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) building in 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 at the starting point.
Participants can look forward to seeing iconic landmarks such as the Johor Baru Sky Screen, Zero Mile Icon, Sungai Segget, Johor Baru Ancient Chinese Temple, Gurdwara Sahib Johor Baru, Sultan Ibrahim Building, Persada Johor International Convention Centre, Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim and several other notable structures.
Mohd Noorazam said JB Car-Free Morning was a great platform for people to come together to enjoy scenic sights of the city.
He said it was also a platform for government agencies, NGOs and the private sector to come together to collaborate.
Tan said OCBC Bank was encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by the Johor Baru mayor and MBJB in moving the event to the next level.
“We are looking forward to enabling more sustainability- linked efforts through JB Car-Free Morning.
“Moving forward, we 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,” he said.
For details, visit jb.carfreemorning.my
