Taxi drivers’ group Gabungan Teksi SeMalaysia (GTSM) today has urged the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and its minister Anthony Loke not to U-turn on the enforcing of the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license regulation on e-hailing drivers, the Malay Mail reports. The new regulation was originally set to take effect today, 12 July 2019.
However, after a Cabinet meeting in Putrajaya earlier today, the transport minister announced that it was giving unlicensed e-hailing drivers another three months to facilitate training and the licensing process.
The GTSM president Kamarudin Mohd Hussain said backtracking on the decision is akin to “breaching the country’s sovereignty.”
Kamarudin stated that his organisation would not hesitate to hold another rally in the nation’s capital if the government went back on its word.
Although regulations were mandated last year, the application process for the vocational PSV licenses only kickstarted in April. To date, out of an estimated 200,000 e-hailing drivers on the road, only 10 percent have obtained PSV licenses.
With over 180,000 unlicensed drivers locked out of e-hailing systems, it would have caused major disruptions for passengers, drivers, e-hailing operators (EHOs), and businesses alike.
Header photo: Yusof Mat Isa | Malay Mail
