KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16— Police have declared this Wednesday’s planned protest by taxi drivers against Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar as illegal for failing to obtain permission from the owners of the places they plan to hold their rallies.

In a statement tonight, Dang Wangi district police chief Zainol Abu Samah said that taxi permit owners should prohibit their drivers from using their taxis as part of the protest against the SPAD chief over his alleged failure to protect the taxi industry from competition.

“We will not hesitate to use existing laws (against taxi permit holders) if the taxis are used in the demonstration,” he said, adding those who plan on taking part in the protest will face action under the Peaceful Assembly Act.

Zainol also disclosed that police met the rally organisers twice before declaring it illegal today.

It is understood that taxi drivers plan on holding demonstrations at multiple venues simultaneously, including Karangkraf, Padang Merbok, Masjid Negara and Dataran Merdeka.

Malaysian Taxi Drivers Transformation Association (Pers1m) deputy chairman Kamarudin Mohd Husain was quoted last month as saying that they are unhappy with how SPAD has allowed ridesharing apps such as Uber and GrabCar to encroach on the industry’s interests.

Taxi drivers here had claimed that ridesharing apps had been stealing their customers, although there is no evidence to support their claims.

Of late, there has been reported violence by taxi drivers against Uber drivers in Kuala Lumpur, which resulted in the arrest of at least one Uber driver for ferrying passengers without a licence.

There was also a viral video of taxi drivers in KLCC filming themselves harassing an Uber driver, before ending the video with a warning that something similar would happen to other Uber drivers.