Anthony Loke (centre) speaks during a press conference at the Ministry Of Transport in Putrajaya September 19, 2018. — Picture by Azneal Ishak

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 19 — The government will not hesitate to take action against motorcycle taxi service Dego Ride if it continues to operate illegally, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said.

Speaking at a press conference, Loke said the Ministry maintains its stance against motorcycle ride-hailing services mainly for safety reasons.

“We will never legalise Dego Ride in Malaysia because we disagree with any types of ride-sharing services that involve motorcycles.

“In Malaysia, there are too many accidents involving bikes that we just can’t take the risk. We will send enforcement officers to go after Dego Ride,” he told reporters after Cabinet meeting at the Ministry here.

Dego Ride was brought to a halt by the Barisan Nasional government in February, saying that its service is not needed as Malaysia already has a comprehensive public transportation system.

In July, Loke told Dewan Rakyat that the government is against the service, also citing high motorcycle accident numbers.

Last week, however, local news agency Free Malaysia Today reported that the motorcycle taxi service has revived its operation in a small scale around Klang Valley.

Founder Nabil Faisal Bamadhaj reportedly said that he has met with Transport Ministry officials and he was confident that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would agree to the service being revived.