KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — A taxi company owner who publicly rallied for Pakatan Harapan (PH) last year said that he has lost all hope with the coalition over its alleged inaction to control and regulate e-hailing services.
Big Blue Taxi Facilities Sdn Bhd adviser Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail sarcastically remarked that he is still looking for ‘harapan’ (a ray of hope) from PH to help address cabbies’ woes.
In a press conference today, after a meeting with ex-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Shamsubahrin said that he is now waiting for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to assume the mantle as prime minister and help taxi drivers.
“We’ve got no choice. Like I’ve said before, we cannot hope on all the PKR leaders. All the leaders who have posts, we have no hope on them.
“The only new hope that I have is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister. That is our only hope,” Shamsubahrin, a controversial figure in the taxi industry, told reporters.
He added that he does not dispute the leadership and capabilities of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, but claimed that his subordinates are not listening to him.
“Tun Dr Mahathir has already said that he has informed the (Transport) Ministry, that the wrong implementation would kill off taxi drivers, but the ministry still wants to press ahead with its ways. So the hope that we have now is just one. We wait for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and I am confident that he will be able to help address the woes of the cabbies,” he added.
Shamsubahrin is demanding that the government shut down hubs catering to e-hailing drivers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
He lamented that under the terms of the e-hailing concept, vehicles are not permitted to wait for passengers, like taxi drivers.
“I want the hubs prepared for e-hailing drivers to be shut down immediately. This is because e-haling drivers cannot park and wait for passengers,” he added.
