In Local News, Public Transport / By Danny Tan / 19 December 2018 3:33 pm / 23 comments

Last month, it was announced that all Grab and e-hailing drivers will have to undergo the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) course and get the PSV license, as required for taxi drivers. The period to comply is from January to July 2019. Vehicles over three years old will also have to undergo inspection.

That was announced by transport minister Anthony Loke as part of the government’s move to regulate the e-hailing industry and create a level playing field with taxis. Taxi groups have long complained about the ease of which one can be an e-hailing driver, with no need to comply to the regulations that they are subject to.

Before the announcement, Loke met with Big Blue Taxi adviser Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail (pix above) – one of the most vocal individuals championing taxi rights – at parliament to discuss issues. Now, a group of claiming to be the rightful representatives of the taxi driver community has criticised Shamsubahrin for claiming to be their spokesman, Malay Mail reports.

The group that calls itself Gabungan Teksi SeMalaysia (GTSM) held a gathering at Padang Merbok in KL this morning. They want to know what was discussed between Loke and Shamsubahrin, threatening action if they are kept out of the loop.

Shamsubahrin (centre) at a taxi driver protest in Putrajaya

“Who are you? We are the real taxi drivers and we are the ones who should meet Anthony. This guy, Datuk Shamsubahrin, he is not a representative for taxis. We are disputing why Anthony Loke asked Shamsubahrin to meet him to represent us taxi drivers,” said Fazli Fathil, president of the Elite Driver Kuala Lumpur group, an association under GTSM.

“What you promised and discussed, we have no idea. If nothing is done in 14 days, we will make a petition and hand a report to the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the meeting and its contents,” he threatened.

According to MM, the meeting between Loke and Shamsubahrin was seen as a move to pacify the latter, who had at that time threatened to organise a mass gathering of taxi drivers in protest of e-hailing laws the government had passed.

Separately, more than 100 taxi and rental car drivers gathered in Penang this morning for a protest against e-hailing services, The Star reports. The group’s spokesman C. Supramaniam urged the government to ensure a level playing field between taxis and private cars.

“The current situation has greatly affected our livelihood. Now, in a day, we are only able to make between RM30 to RM40 from an entire day of work. How are we suppose to survive?” he said to reporters at Bagan Luar. The group wants regulation to be imposed on Grab drivers as applied on taxi drivers.